Help
by Wicked Misty
Summary: Harry is abused by the Dursley's and is found by some of our favorite characters. Angst everywere! Warning for language!
1. Default Chapter

Standard Disclaimer: I do not own these character and such; all I own is the plot line and any characters I might make up at some point later lol. Do not sue, as all you will get are some school books and my Care Bear.  
  
Chapter One  
  
       Harry just wished the pain would end.  Things had always been bad at the Dursley's but this was the worst summer ever.  The abuse he received from his uncle was getting increasingly horrible.  It was still over a month until his fourth year at Hogwarts and he had nowhere else to go.          
  
"Oh Hedwig, what am I going to do?" he moaned softly.  Hedwig hooted sympathetically and flew over to him. Before she could peck his ear gently, his body shook with coughs. He pushed his head into the pillow to try and muffle the sound. He had already received quite a beating earlier for not trimming the flowers the 'right way'. All he needed now was to wake up his uncle and incur his wrath again. When he pulled away from his pillow he saw the spot of blood on it that was spreading.  
  
"Bloody hell," he whispered before falling to the side of his pillow, unconscious.  
  
Hedwig knew her owner did not want to bother people but things were becoming very serious now. She flew to retrieve a letter that Harry wrote to Sirius earlier, dipped it into the blood on the pillow, and flew out the window. She needed to find help for her owner, and needed it soon.  
  
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Okay sorry this chapter is a bit short but I felt it would be better if I put the next part on a different page so just click on the button that will take it to you ^_^ …Maybe the review button too? lol 


	2. Padfoot and Apparating

Disclaimer: See first chapter  
  
Chapter 2  
  
Sirius was sitting on a couch in Remus Lupin's house. He wanted nothing more then to walk outside, in human form, but he couldn't. He personally didn't care about anyone seeing him but Remus absolutely refused the idea.  
  
  
  
"Padfoot, you know it's a bad idea," he told him for the tenth time that night.  
  
"But it's dark! Nobody will see me. You don't know what it's like Mooney. Never being able to go anywhere unless I'm an animal!" Sirius practically yelled.  
  
"No I may not, but I don't want to see my friend hurt! Until Wormtail is caught…" His explanation was cut off by the sound on urgent hoots outside the living room window.  
  
"What the heck?" Remus exclaimed as he went to open the window. As soon as it opened, Hedwig swooped in and started pecking at Sirius's hand and dropped Harry's letter in his lap.  
  
"Hedwig, what are you doing here?" Remus asked. She looked up with a look that seemed to say 'what do you think?' and continued pecking at Sirius's hand.  
  
"Okay I get the point!" Sirius exclaimed and the owl finally left his hand alone. He rubbed the sore spot on it and picked up the letter.  
  
Sirius,  
  
Things are going fine. Same as always here at the Dursley's. Any luck finding Wormtail? I hope you and Buckbeak and Professor Lupin are well.  
  
Harry  
  
"What is so urgent about this letter, Hedwig? He says he is fine," Sirius said with a confused tone.  
  
'Stupid humans,' Hedwig thought. 'Guess I have to do everything.' She started pecking more furiously at Sirius's hand. Then she picked the letter up and flew over to Remus, hoping he might be a little faster at understanding. She had made sure to pick it up near the part she had dipped in Harry's blood.  
  
"There's blood on the letter!" Remus gasped, grabbing the letter from Hedwig's beak.  
  
"What?!" Sirius yelled, jumping off of the couch and ran to Remus.  
  
"This is Harry's blood isn't it?" Remus asked Hedwig quietly. Her answer of nipping at his ear and looking towards the window was all he needed.  
  
"We have to go get him Mooney! He's hurt…if those bloody Dursley's did that to him, they'll wish that I…" This time it was Sirius who was cut off by Hedwig's hooting.  
  
"Sirius you know you can't go! You'll be seen for sure and the last thing you want is to end up at Azkaban again and have Harry loose you all over again," Remus replied as he 'petted' Hedwig.  
  
"Then I'll go as Padfoot, the dog! I have to go Remus. He's my godson and I need to help him, especially since I've never been able to before." As soon as he was done saying that, he immediately turned into his Animagus dog form and started barking loudly.  
  
"Okay! We're going to apparate near his house since the wards there prevent us from apparating directly to him."   
  
With those words, Sirius immediately disappeared (apparated) so Hedwig flew onto Remus's shoulder to catch a ride with him. Seconds later, there was no more noise in Remus's house for it was now empty.  
  
  
  
As soon as they arrived as close to Pivet Drive as possible Hedwig flew straight to Harry's window and went through it. Sirius growled and tried to move forward but Remus grabbed him by his neck.  
  
"Sirius! We need to be quiet and get Harry. We can get the Dursley's later if need be. Be quiet and do not do anything rash!" Remus whispered harshly. Sirius growled softly in reply but stayed still.  
  
Remus walked to the front door with Sirius behind him and magically unlocked and opened the door. Sirius went past Remus into the house, sniffed, then snarled and shot up the stairs.  
  
"Sirius! Damn it!" Remus groaned and sped up the stairs following Sirius, after putting a silencing spell around the house so those muggles wouldn't hear the two of them.  
  
By the time he was at the top of the stairs he saw Sirius return to his human form and push a door open at the end of the hall. Remus was almost right behind him and they both gasped at the sight that greeted them.   
  
Harry was laying sprawled out on a tiny bed with one of his arms hanging off, as well as his feet. There were cuts all over the visible arm and all his exposed skin was covered in old or new bruises. Hedwig was nipping at one of his ears worriedly which brought the two wizard's attention to the blood covered pillow.  
  
"Oh Merlin," Sirius gasped then snapped out of his shook and ran to the bed.  
  
"Harry? Harry?" Sirius said, shaking the boy's still form lightly. "Harry…c'mon wake up. It's me, Padfoot, and Mooney's here too. We're here to help….c'mon Harry!" Sirius said, panic making his voice raise.  
  
"Shaking the boy so much is not going to help him," Remus told Sirius, then kneeled next to Harry's bed and checked his pulse. "He's still alive but he needs help, now. We have to get him to Dumbledore," Remus said as he moved to pick up Harry.  
  
"I've got him, Remus," Sirius said, panic still evident in his voice, then proceeded to pick up Harry.  
  
"I'm not even going to argue with you, only because Harry is in such need of help and I know it wouldn't accomplish anything," Remus sighed as he went to the window and levitated down to the ground. Sirius cradled Harry close to his body and followed Remus, with Hedwig right behind him. As soon as they were both on the ground they ran to the spot they had apparated to and disappeared on their way to Hogwarts. Hopefully Harry would make it there.  
  
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okay this took awhile to type so I'll probably post the next part tomorrow instead of tonight also. Thanks to the wonderful people who already reviewed the meager 305 words I had lol. Hope this part is satisfactory ^_^ 


	3. Poppy and Dumbledore

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Disclaimer: See the first chapter

Chapter 3

Sirius arrived outside the Hogwarts parameters, not being able to apparate directly into the school. 'Damn those wards,' he thought as he ran, keeping a firm but gentle hold around Harry. He burst through the school doors and proceeded to run to the infirmary, bursting through those doors once he got to them also.

"Poppy!" he yelled, hoping to Merlin that she would be there. "Poppy!" As soon as he yelled the second time, Madame Pomfrey came out of her office.

"Sirius Black what are you doing here?! Yelling at me over summer break! I don't…" Sirius cut her off with another yell.

"Harry needs your help!" he exploded, indicating the body he held in his arms.

"Oh my…what happened to him now?" she asked as he bustled around Harry after Sirius set him down on the nearest bed.

"His 'family' happened," Sirius replied grimly.

~~~~~~~~~

At the same time Sirius was heading to Madame Pomfrey, Remus was heading to Dumbledore's office.

"Pumpkin juice," he said to the stone gargoyle guarding Dumbledore's office.

As he was about to knock on his office door, he heard a rumbling voice say "come in." He really hated how Dumbledore always knew when someone was at his door…he never got a chance to knock.

"Ah Remus, what do I owe this pleasure to? Lemon Drop?" Dumbledore asked.

"No thanks," Remus replied hurriedly. "Harry has been hurt and Sirius has taken him to Poppy."

"Ahhh…fell off his broom playing Quiditch?" Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"No," Remus said and took a deep breath. "His 'family' beat him almost to death. Sirius received a letter from Harry, and Hedwig dipped it into some of Harry's blood before delivering it…her way of letting us know something was wrong. He was and still probably is unconscious." After hearing those words, Dumbledore's eyes lost their usual sparkle.

"Oh my," he said softly. "Are you sure it was them?" he asked, staring at Remus.

"Until Harry is awake, we can't be completely sure, but that is definitely how it seems."

"Well I think we should go check on Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said. He stood up from his chair and walked to the door. "Coming Remus?" Both of them walked out of his office, worry making them move quietly and quickly.


	4. Parents and Pain

**Disclaimer** :See the first chapter. I DON'T OWN THEM!!! Lol  
  
  
  
Chapter 4  
  
  
  
  
Harry felt like he was floating. The pain his uncle had put him through was behind him. He heard voices around him but was surrounded by fog so he couldn't see anything.  
"James…James, it's him! Oh god, it's Harry!" he heard a woman whisper.  
"Lily calm down dear. It can't be, you know…oh Merlin, it is Harry!" a man's voice yelled.  
The fog started to lift from around Harry and he found himself standing in a field with a man and woman in front of him.  
"Mom? Dad?" he whispered and ran towards them.  
"Oh my baby," Lily cried, embracing Harry.  
"Hey kiddo," James said, emotions evident in his voice, as he put his hands on Harry's shoulders.  
"What am I doing here? …Where is here?" Harry asked, whipping his head back and forth.  
"This is a wizarding world that is between life and death. You are unconscious right now and close to dying…which is why you are here," James answered. As soon as Lily let go of Harry, he took his turn in hugging him.  
"What?! Why are you here then?"  
"We've decided to stay here to watch over you. After we died, we were given a choice to stay here if we wished. We've been here ever since, watching you whenever we are able to," Lily answered softly, her tears drying up some.  
"You need to go back though son. You shouldn't be here…you need to wake up. I know things are painful for you, but the people need you down there (were the alive people are)," James said, pulling Harry in for another hug.  
"I want to stay with you though! I can't stay with the Dursley's anymore…I can't stand it!" Harry cried as he buried his face into his father's chest.  
"But you need to wake up son. Sirius and Remus have brought you to Hogwarts; Hedwig alerted them of you being in trouble. Go to them Harry," Lily whispered as the fog once again surrounded Harry.  
"No!" he screamed. He was being pulled away from his parents and back to the pain. 'Remus and Sirius saved me?' was his last thought before he knew no more.  
  
  
  
  
When Dumbledore and Remus arrived at the infirmary, Sirius was seated by Harry's bed, holding his hand. Madame Pomfrey was moving around, checking different things on Harry while glaring at Sirius.  
"I'm not leaving Poppy. This is my godson and I am staying with him," he said curtly, not looking up once.  
"Good to see Mr. Potter has a devoted godfather," Dumbledore smiled, walking up to Harry's bed.  
"How is he doing?" Remus asked quietly as he walked behind Sirius and placed a hand on his shoulder.  
"Mr. Potter is in very bad condition. He is severely malnourished, several of his ribs are broken, there are bruises over almost all of his body, and cuts down both his arms," Pomfrey answered briskly. "And how did all of this happen?"  
"We will have to wait for Mr. Potter to wake up to know for sure," Dumbledore said. "I have some things to attend to but please let me know when he has woken up." With that, Dumbledore disappeared out the doors.  
"How long before he wakes, Poppy?" Sirius asked quietly.  
"To be honest, I have absolutely no idea. His body has been through so much that he needs this sleep. The potions I have gave him will help, but we'll just have to wait."  
  
  
  
  
  
  
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So what ya think? Thanks to my wonderful reviewers, and my friend Maria who is now my great beta-reader. Oh and sorry for the different formatting (somewhat) between the first two chapters and how the rest will be. Hope you enjoyed this chapter of nice Harry pain 


	5. Potions and Discussions

** Disclaimer**: See first chapter. If you don't get it yet, I do NOT own them ::sigh::  
  
  
  
Chapter 5  
  
  
  
Harry became aware of voices once again. He strained to hear what was being said this time...maybe he was back with his parents!  
"You cannot be serious! You will do something that will land you in Azkaban for real this time!"  
"Moony, I have to. What they did is wrong and they need to be taught that!"  
"We don't even know for sure that they did it. If you go out now, somebody will see you...and think of the trouble that will cause! Harry needs you; especially once he wakes up."  
The voices became clearer to Harry as well as the pain...he couldn't hold back a moan. Immediately he felt someone grab his hand and he flinched back.  
"Harry, Harry are you awake?" someone asked. He tried to answer but all that came out was another moan.  
Suddenly a thought hit him. 'Oh merlin! It's my uncle...I gotta get up before he punishes me!' Panic-filled, Harry's eyes shot open and he sat straight up. He decided that was not a good idea as he fell back down and tears of pain clouded his vision. Now there was a hand pushing his hair away from his forhead.  
"It's okay Harry...don't try to move for now. You're at Hogwarts right now. Remus and I brought you here...Remus, go get Dumbledore."  
"Sirius?" Harry whispered weakly.  
"That's right kiddo. Can you open your eyes, slowly this time?"  
Harry had to use lots of energy but he finally got his eyes to reopen. He squinted up at Sirius, who took that as his cue to put Harry's glasses on for him.  
"What happened?" Harry rasped.  
"That's what we were hoping you could tell us, Mr. Potter," Dumbledore said as he came through the door with Remus. "Glad to see you're awake my boy. How are you feeling?"  
Harry winced as he tried to sit up again. "Not too well I suppose, sir," he croaked before giving up on trying to sit up.  
"With your injuries, it's to be expected," Madame Pomfrey said, bustling around this bed.  
"Can you tell us what happened, Harry? Those are some very serious injuries you have sustained," Dumbledore enquired.  
Harry froze at his question. 'Oh merlin...what do I say?! I can't tell them what happened...Sirius might do something bad or they will laugh at me for not being able to stand up to a muggle.' "I can't really remember," he answered out loud, though quietly. Remus and Dumbledore shared a look while Sirius stared intently at Harry.  
"We found you strewn across your bed, bloody and looking dead! How do you not know what happened?" Sirius exclaimed.   
Harry flinched at his words. That tone of voice in his uncle was usually followed by a beating, so he tensed up and readied himself for the pain to come.  
"You may question the boy all you want later, but right now he needs sleep. So go on, leave now," Pomfrey said as she shooed everyone out of the infirmary.   
"And here you go Mr. Potter," she said, bringing a bottle over to him. It's a pain reliever potion with some sleeping draught added. Drink it all now," she said firmly helping Harry sit up some. He made a face but gulped it down. Just drinking the potion used up most of the little energy he had left.  
"Go to sleep now; you're safe here." Pomfrey pulled his blankets up to him and then went to her office. As Harry drifted off to sleep he wondered what he was going to do about the questions sure to come. Not even two minutes later, he was completely asleep.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore left the infirmary first with Remus dragging Sirius behind him. He knew he had to; otherwise he would stay in there.  
"Remus! I can't leave Harry!" Sirius exclaimed, trying to pull out of the werewolf's grasp.  
"No you do not. He needs his rest and you need to calm down," he replied as he dragged Sirius into an empty classroom and made him sit in a chair. "Harry has been through enough without his godfather yelling at him."  
"But he was lying! He was protecting those bastards who did that to him. He knows what happened to him but he doesn't trust us with it!" With that, Sirius was out of the chair and pacing around, extremely agitated.  
"I don't think it's a matter of trust, Padfoot" Remus said quietly.  
"Well then why didn't he owl us, telling us about this? We could've gotten him out before he was beaten so badly!" Sirius choked out as a few stray tears fell down his face. "Why didn't he tell us Moony?" he asked, falling back into his chair.  
"Only Harry can tell us when he's ready," Remus replied as he sat down next to Sirius. They both stared off into space with sad looks on their faces.  
  
  
  
  
  
Dumbledore sat behind his desk with an intense look of worry on his face. Although it was not certain exactly what happened to Harry, everyone had a pretty good idea. If it was true, then he was at fault for all this...he's the one who left Harry at the Dursley's.  
He shook his head and buried himself in his work to try and forget it. If this would work, then hopefully it would make things up to young Mr. Potter. With a sigh, he dipped his quill into a bottle of ink and started writing furiously on the piece of parchment in front of him. If only it will work...it had to work.   
  
  
  
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Dun dun dun...can anyone guess what Dumbledore is up to? ;) Again, thanks to my wonderful reviewers and my beta, Maria ^_^ 


	6. Fine and Floo

**Disclaimer:** See the first chapter  
  
  
Chapter 6         
  
  
  
Harry woke up late the following afternoon. The events of the previous night seemed unreal, though the pain was still real. He was afraid to open his eyes and find himself back in his room at Pivet Drive, about to be beaten for getting up late. He took a deep breath and whimpered at the pain it brought. Seconds later he felt a presence over him and flinched back into the bed.  
"Mr. Potter, I know you're awake so can you please open your eyes for me?" Dumbledore asked gently, staring down at the shaking form.   
"Professor Dumbledore?" Harry whispered, still afraid to open his eyes.  
"Yes Harry, it's me. You're safe...you can open your eyes."  
Harry slowly opened his eyes and saw the blurry form of Dumbledore and the infirmary. He immediately reached his hand out for his glasses and Dumbledore handed them to him.  
"How are you feeling my boy?" Dumbledore asked.  
"Fine," he replied.  
"You don't look very fine to me Mr. Potter. Care to answer again?"  
Harry was saved from having to answer again by Sirius and Remus entry into the infirmary.  
"I told you he should be awake by now Mooney," Sirius said. "Hi Albus. Are we interrupting anything?"  
"No, I was just seeing how Harry was doing," Dumbledore replied, looking at Harry. Since the two of you are here now, I think I will return to my office and some papers I need to work out. I'll come see you later Harry." He looked at Harry a few seconds longer then walked out the infirmary doors.  
"So how are you doing Harry?" Remus asked softly, taking a seat next to Harry's bed; Sirius taking one on the other side.   
As soon as Harry opened his mouth to answer, Sirius cut in "And you better not say 'okay' or 'fine'," but softened the words with a grin. Harry immediately closed his mouth.  
"Harry can you please tell us the truth about what happened and how you are?" Remus asked, this time him being the one who stared at Harry's face.  
"I can't," Harry whispered.  
"Why not? What is so bloody hard to tell us? We just want to know how you are!" Sirius exploded, trying to stay somewhat quiet.  
Remus saw Harry flinch back into his bed and knew he would reveal nothing now, especially with Sirius there.  
"Mr. Black, what do you think you're doing?!" Pomfrey exclaimed. "If you think yelling is helping anybody then you are more of a fool then I though. Mr. Lupin, you may stay but Mr. Black you must leave."  
A dark look came over Sirius's face and he opened his mouth but Pomfrey glared at him and said "Out. Now."  
Sirius glared back then stormed out, slamming the doors on his way out.  
"That man needs a talking to," Pomfrey grumbled. "I'm going to go floo Albus. Harry are you okay here with Mr. Lupin? Good," she said, not waiting for an actual response. She stalked off to her office, mumbling under her breath about stupid men and their issues.  
  
  
Remus shook his head, not believing Sirius' behavior. When he looked over at Harry, his heart nearly broke in half. Harry had his eyes shut tight and was still sitting up, but with his arms holding his legs up to his chest, and he was rocking. He was also whispering "I'm sorry" over and over again. Now Remus wanted to hurt Sirius along with the Dursleys (he was certain they were the ones who did this to Harry).  
"Oh Harry," he whispered sadly. "Harry, it's okay. Can you please look at me? Sirius and everybody is gone; it's just you and me," he said a little louder but gently.  
Harry stayed in the some position with his eyes shut but stopped whispering "I'm sorry." This time he said "I can't."  
"Why can't you Harry? You know I would never hurt you."  
"How do I know Sirius isn't still there? Ready to beat me for not giving him the answer he wanted," he answered, fear evident in his voice.  
'Damn you, Sirius,' Remus thought. He took a deep mental breath and then an outwards one. "Sirius is just worried about you kiddo. We all are...he just doesn't handle emotions too well. I promise you I am the only one in here, even Poppy is off in her office somewhere. If I'm lying, I give you full permission to hex me into oblivion, but ya gotta open your eyes first."  
"Can I get that in writing?" Harry asked quietly, his hold on his legs loosening some.  
Remus had to chuckle at that. "Sure thing kiddo."  
Harry argued with himself about it for awhile but finally decided it was okay to open his eyes. 'I can trust Professor Lupin. He has never yelled at me and has always been nice.' He slowly opened his eyes and saw only Remus.  
"Darn," Harry rasped. "I can't hex you now."  
"Well once you're feeling better maybe I'll let you hex me some anyways," Remus replied and winked at him then got serious. "I'm not going to force you to say anything but is there anything you want to talk about?"   
Harry gulped. He wanted to talk to someone but at the same time he didn't. This was Professor Lupin though...maybe...         
"I don't know what to say," he answered quietly.   
"Then you don't have to say anything." Remus decided to switch to a lighter topic. "Are you going to be Seeker again this year for Gryffindor?"        
  
  
Dumbledore was sitting at his desk, thinking of what to write next on his parchment when he heard a loud 'pop'. He looked over and saw Poppy's head sticking out of his fireplace.         
"I hope I am not disturbing you Albus but this is important. I think you need to have a little talk with Mr. Black about his behavior, especially around Mr. Potter. Thank you sir." Giving Dumbledore no time to reply as she had done to Harry and Remus, she immediately 'popped' out of the fireplace, leaving Dumbledore alone in his office again. He couldn't help but smile and chuckle at her actions. 'Always firm, making sure things will be done, and giving no time for a response.' He now had the duty of tracking down Mr. Black though so with a sigh he put down his quill. He probably needed a break anyways.  
  



	7. Katie and Tears

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter   
             _  
  
BTW- When I said I don't own any characters except any I might make up, you will get to see those characters in this one. Don't worry though, they are only in this chapter._  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 7  
  
  
       'The gall of that old bat to kick me out!' Sirius thought After he had stormed out, he went directly outside to the lake. He sat down on the grass by it with a 'thud.' 'And what was up with Harry?!' All Sirius wanted to do was throttle the kid. 'Why wouldn't he tell me?' He growled out loud and threw a rock into the lake. After a few minutes he had calmed down enough to think clearly. 'Oh Merlin, what have I done?!' He was appalled at his behavior. Here Harry was, obviously having been abused and he starts yelling at him. He might as well go kill a puppy now considering what he just did. 'Poppy had every right now to kick me out. I'm surprised she didn't hex me first.' He buried his head in his hands and tears spilled from his eyes. He shouldn't have taken his feelings about the past out on Harry. He was just so scared and wouldn't let what happened to Katie happen to Harry. He was brought out of his thoughts by a hand resting on his shoulder.  
"Out enjoying the sun, Sirius?" Dumbledore asked.  
"Oh yes, it's such a wonderful day. I feel like skipping around," Sirius answered sarcastically. He quickly brushed away any tears on his face before Dumbledore came around and sat next to him.  
"I guess your wonderful mood has something to do with the talk Poppy 'suggested' I have with you?"  
Sirius sighed, knowing that was coming but didn't answer.  
"She said something about your behavior regarding our young Harry. Care to share why she was in such an uproar?" Dumbledore asked gently.  
"I would rather not Albus...other then the fact that I was a bloody bastard to Harry," Sirius said, then put his head back in his hands. "I yelled at him for not telling Remus and me what happened and how he felt. I just lost it. I'm surprised Poppy didn't curse me before kicking me out but I'm sure Moony will do it for her later."  
"I'm sorry my boy but I must say I'm disappointed in you. You know how important it is to remain calm around people have been abused. They don't naturally open up." Dumbledore looked pointedly at him, thinking of the same situation that Sirius himself had been thinking about. "I think it is best if you stay away from Harry until tomorrow, giving both of you time to calm down." Dumbledore stood up and put his hand on Sirius' shoulder again. "I'm always here for you if you need to talk," he said gently, then walked back towards the school.  
'Damn it, I do know better,' Sirius thought. This time he slipped fully into his memories.  
  


***Flashback***  
  


_"Sirius, I'm fine...really. Don't be such a worrywart," Katie said smiling. "I just flew into a tree playing Quidditch. You know I have no coordination," she joked.  
Sirius wasn't sure about her story. You don't get the kind of bruises Katie had from flying into a tree. He knew from experience not to push but he did anyway. Enough was enough.  
"Katie, that is a fist sized bruise on your cheek and hand shaped ones on your arm and back of your neck. So unless you have found a tree with human hands, quit bullshitting and tell me the truth."  
"Such language Siri; need I wash your mouth out with soap?" she winked. He just glared at her.  
"Kat, please. I leave for Hogwarts in a week. If I can't be here to help you, I need to know that someone will, which means telling an adult."   
Sirius had just turned eleven which meant he received his first Hogwarts letter. Katie was only ten so she wouldn't be joining him until the following year.  
"Even if I wanted to, who would believe me?" she said quietly, silently answering the question of what really happened. "My dad is a well respected wizard and I'm just a kid. Besides, I'll be joining you next year and we can cause insane amounts of mischief," she finished with a grin.  
There was no next year for them. That was the last time he had seen his best friend, aside from her own funeral. Two weeks into the year at Hogwarts he received an owl from Katie's mom. Her dad had lost his job at the Ministry of Magic and got drunk on firewhiskey because of it. When he got home he beat Katie to death and the killed himself with Avada Kadava.  
Sirius took two days of 'family sickness' to go to her funeral. The only person who ever knew what really happened was Dumbledore.  
_

  
***End of Flashback***  
  


  
Tears were streaming down Sirius' face as he came back to reality. He had tried to keep the whole thing behind him but it was all brought out when he found Harry at the Dursleys. He still felt so guilty about Katie's death and had ended up taking it out on Harry. He was scared; Harry not telling them what happened and saying he was find...it made Sirius feel like he was eleven again and back with Katie. He loved Harry like a son and wanted to make sure he didn't end up like Katie.  
  
  
  
  
  
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So what ya think? Hope this explains Sirius' weird behavior (I know many people have had issues with it). Surprisingly my parents didn't kill me or anything so can keep posting my story ;) Hope ya enjoyed and please review! It's sad how happy it makes me lol. And thanks to my beta, Maria!  



	8. Potions and Hexes

**Disclaimer:** Yada yada...see the first chapter  
        
          
Hope the last chapter helped clear Sirius' behavior up some ^_^ See, I  
didn't just make him a bastard for no reason lol.  
  
  
  
Chapter 8  
  
  
        After an hour of Remus talking to Harry about Quidditch, Madame Pomfrey  
came out of her office and went over to them.  
       "That's enough for now boys. Harry needs sleep to help his body mend,  
which means visiting hours are over."  
       Harry opened his mouth to protest but a large yawn came out instead and  
he blushed. Remus just laughed and told Harry he would come visit him later and  
try to sneak some chocolate frogs in. He leaned down and hugged Harry. "I love  
you Harry and am always here for you," Remus whispered in his ear before  
straightening up. "Make sure to mind Poppy and get lots of sleep...you don't  
want to get on her bad side." Remus winked at her to complete the effect then  
left.  
       "Okay Mr. Potter, time for some potions." Pomfrey went over to her cases  
of potions and grabbed four. "This one is for mending your ribs, this is for  
pain, this is for healing your cuts and bruises, and lastly, one to help you  
sleep." She handed them to him one at a time and made sure he drank all of them.  
"That's a good boy. Now get some rest."  
       Harry slid down in the bed so he was lying down and tried to get  
comfortable. The pain potion hadn't kicked in yet so it was a little hard with  
his broken ribs and many bruises, but he finally did. Even with the sleeping  
potion he didn't want to go to sleep. He knew it was irrational but he was  
afraid he'd wake up back at the Dursleys. After ten minutes of fighting it, the  
potion won out. The struggle didn't go unnoticed by Pomfrey who was discreetly  
watching him across the room. She shook her head sadly and whispered a prayer  
for the poor boy before going back to work in her office.  
  
  
  
  
       As soon as Remus left the infirmary he felt like he was going to explode  
with sadness and anger. Now that he didn't have to worry about scaring Harry,  
the anger won his attention. He stalked down the hallway trying to figure out  
where he could find Sirius. 'That bastard has a good yelling and maybe a few  
curses coming his way,' he thought with a feral look on his face. 'Yep,  
definitely a few curses.'  
       As Remus was going down on hallway, Sirius was entering Hogwarts. 'I hope  
I don't run into Remus. He'll probably Avada Kadava me on the first glance.' As  
he started to head to his temporary room, fate was not favoring him. Right when  
he turned the corner he literally ran into Remus. 'Bloody hell,' he thought.  
'Probably should've seen that coming.'  
       Once Remus realized who it was he ran into, he quickly pulled out his  
wand. "There better be a good explanation for the way you acted," he growled,  
keeping his want pointed at Sirius.  
       Sirius winced, not knowing how to answer. "I can't explain right now but  
I have realized what a bastard I was to Harry."  
       "Bloody right you were a bastard! And what do you mean you can't  
explain?!" Remus exploded. "I should hex you on the spot! You didn't see the way  
your words, your tone, effected Harry...he was practically curled up in a ball  
while sitting up, was afraid to open his eyes, he was rocking back and forth,  
and whispering that he was sorry!" He took a deep breath while trying to calm  
down. "I hope you have a reason Sirius. If you won't tell me then you better at  
least explain it to Harry...unless you don't want him in your life anymore cause  
that's what is gonna happen." He then placed his wand back in his robe, knowing  
he wasn't going to actually use it on his best friend.  
       Sirius cringed at every word and almost cried when he heard what he did  
to Harry. 'Oh Merlin,' he thought and slid to the floor, much like how he was  
sitting at the late. "What have I done?" he whispered.  
       Remus could tell by the devastated look on his friend's face that he  
really did regret what he did. He looked like he was about to fall apart.  
"Sirius, I know that you love Harry; you just need to make sure he does. I think  
it's best though that you wait to see him for a day or so though...let me know  
if you want me there with you." He placed a hand on Sirius' shoulder, his anger  
fading away. Now he was just filled with despair over what had happened to Harry  
and how Sirius was now. "I love him too Sirius...I just couldn't stand to see  
the way you were acting and the effect it had on Harry. Why don't you go back to  
your room to collect yourself; I know that's what I need to do." He patted  
Sirius' shoulder and walked towards his own room.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
*************************************************  
Okay sorry if the ending is a little weird but wasn't sure how to end it so  
there ya go! Thanks again to my beta and wonderful reviewers ^_^ Hope ya liked  
this chapter! This was the last of the story I had pre-written so it might be a  
day or two until I post some more, plus much insane-ness this weekend.  
  
Oh! And because of a review I just got -_-' I shall make sure this is clear. Katie and Sirius are not getting together. Sirius freaked out about Harry because Katie died, remember? ::rolls eyes:: Oh, and I'd appreciate it if people don't review in all caps. Thanks! ^_^  



	9. Calming Potions and Explanations

**Disclaimer**: Yada yada....see the first chapter.  
  
  
  
Chapter 9  
  
  
  
Sirius was about to have a mental breakdown. It was two days after his 'reprimand' from Remus and it was time for him to go see Harry. He had gotten no sleep the previous night yet felt insanely awake. 'Oh Merlin...what am I going to tell Harry? What if he doesn't even want to see me?' he questioned himself. He took a deep breath and tried to calm himself. "Now is as good as ever I suppose," he muttered out loud to himself.  
  
  
Harry was feeling as nervous, if not more, as Sirius. Remus (as Professor Lupin made him promise to call him) came by that morning to let him know that Sirius would come by later for a visit. Harry had felt panic rise in him but Remus must have noticed this and promised Harry he would stay with him if he wanted. As good as that sounded, he didn't want to seem like a complete baby. So now it was just him waiting...Madame Pomfrey was in her office but that didn't really count. She soon joined him though with a potion in her hand.  
"Mr. Potter, you really must calm down. All that fidgeting cannot be helping your body heal." He felt much better then he did when he arrived at Hogwarts a few days ago but still had some physical healing to do. People had left him alone about what had exactly happened, but with Sirius coming he knew that would soon change.  
  
  
As Madame Pomfrey gave Harry a calming potion, Sirius stood outside the infirmary doors wishing he could have one himself. He took a deep breath and opened the doors quietly.  
"Hey Harry," he said gently. Sirius saw Harry's body immediately tense up and cringed. 'Yep, definitely a bloody bastard there Padfoot,' he though grimly to himself. He realized he was still standing in front of the doors so he walked slowly over to the bed Harry was in. He looked for a chair and dragged it over next to the bed and sat in it.  
"Hi," Harry said quietly, looking at his hands instead of up at Sirius. They sat in silence for what seemed like forever, with Harry keeping himself ready to defend his body, if need be.  
Sirius finally blurted out," I'm sorry kiddo. I was a bloody bastard to you the other day. You can hex me into oblivion..hell I want you to!"  
Harry jerked his head up and looked at Sirius. "Remus said the same thing," he whispered. He could tell Sirius was sincerely sorry but that didn't mean he could relax just yet. He might just be waiting to attack him with no warning. He was afraid to ask but did so anyways. "Why?"  
Sirius knew that was coming but still wasn't sure what he was going to tell him. "Harry, I...I have something to tell you. Nobody knows of this except Dumbledore and after I tell you, I'm trusting you not to tell anybody. Also, please don't interrupt me, okay?" Harry just nodded, wondering what he was about to find out.  
"This by no means excuses how I acted but hopefully it will help explain some." Sirius just hoped he would be able to make it through telling Harry this.  
"I'm not really sure how to start so I'll just jump right into it. When I was a few years younger then you, I had a best friend named Katie. We lived two houses down from each other for almost our whole lives. We created some pretty big chaos in our time...some that could even rival that of the Mauraders. Just like you, I recieved my first Hogwarts letter when I was eleven. Katie was a witch but was only ten so she wouldn't be getting hers until the following year." Sirius had to stop for a moment to collect himself. "She was always getting 'mysterious' bruises and such but always claimed them on her being clumsy. I suspected that her dad did it but she denied it, obviously. The day before I left for Hogwarts she had bruises all over her. I finally called her on it because they were hand/fist shaped and her having no coordnation couldn't have done that. I made her promise to tell somebody since I couldn't be there to make sure nothing worse happened." Sirius's voice was now getting rough with held-in emotion. "She just joked about how she would be joining me the next year and we could raise all sorts of chaos on the school. There was no next year. Two weeks into the school year I found out she died. Her father had gotten drunk and beat her to death." No matter how hard he tried, tears were now rolling down his face. "When Remus and I found you...and then you claimed to be fine and didn't know what happened the other day, I just lost it I guess. I love you Harry and I'm just so scared...I don't want you to end up like Katie." Sirius was openly crying now and had his head in his hands.  
Harry sat completely still in shock. 'Wow...' He had no idea what to say to Sirius. That definitely explained his behavior...he didn't feel as scared of him now. Not knowing what to say, he just tentavely reached his hand out and put it on Sirius shoulder and rubbed it some.   
Sirius was trying to stop the tears but they kept coming. 'Oh Merlin...I hope Harry understands now...' He got his answer when he felt a hand gently land on his shoulder and rub it a little. He felt relief fall over him. He looked up, trying to wipe all the tears away with his hands. Harry was looking at him with understanding in his eyes. "Oh Harry...I'm so sorry for the way I acted."  
"I understand...if I was in your shoes I probably would've acted the same way," Harry said, looking into Sirius's eyes, letting him know he meant it. "I forgive you."  
Sirius stood up and pulled Harry into a big, yet gentle, hug. He felt Harry's body stiffen at first but then relaxed into the hug. "I love you too Padfoot," he whispered.  
  
Unknown to them, Dumbledore stood outside the infirmary doors watching the two. He knew this was something that they both needed and would be on their way to healing. He smiled to himself and set off to his office, hopefully to finish something that would bring even more healing to the two.  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
**************************************************************  
  
Okay, Sorry it took me awhile to update this. I had some major writers block that kept showing up. Wasn't too sure how to end it, so once again lol, sorry if the end sucks. Oh! And it's not beta'd cause I just typed up most of this and wanted to go ahead and post it. Hope you enjoyed it!  
  



	10. Eating and Talks

**Disclaimer: **See the first chapter :)  
  
  
I forgot to put this in the last chapter but thanks to the reviewers who warned  
me to take my Authors Note off or have fanfiction.net attack lol. Thanks! And  
sorry for the wait, I haven't had time to post until now but I hope you enjoy  
this ;)  
  
  
Oh! And { } is Hedwig's 'voice'.  
  
  
  
Chapter 10  
  
  
       It was almost time for dinner and Remus hadn't seen Sirius since that  
morning; before Sirius went to go see Harry. He hoped things went okay between  
them...if he didn't see Sirius soon he was going to go to the infirmary to get  
him. As he started walking towards there, Sirius came around a corner walking  
towards him.  
       "Surprised you're still alive Padfoot," Remus joked gently once he was  
right next to him. "How'd it go?" he asked in a more serious tone.  
       Sirius gave a tired smile. "I think we're okay now...he voluntarily  
touched my shoulder and let me hug him."  
       "I'm glad things are okay between now. Otherwise I would've had to kill  
you," Remus replied with a straight face. "I am not sorry for what I said to you  
the other day though."  
       "As you shouldn't be. I deserved a lot worse," Sirius sighed.  
       "Well, you are my best friend Padfoot. Can't do too much damage to you,  
now can I? If Harry can forgive you then I certainly can. Do something like that  
again though and I'll lock you in the dungeon with Snape," he warned.  
       Sirius shuddered, knowing Remus would be true to his word, but he would  
make sure nothing like this ever happened again.  
       Remus remembered the second reason he was looking for Sirius. "Ready for  
some dinner?"  
       Sirius' reply came in the form of a loud grumble from his stomach and a  
slight blush on his face.  
       "I guess that's a yes," Remus laughed and they both headed towards the  
Dinning Hall. Sirius was very glad he could eat in human form and not just get  
Remus' food on the floor. (Pomfrey and Dumbledore were the only other ones in  
the school...at that point.)  
  
  
  
  
       Harry was sitting indian-style on his bed, deep in though about his  
conversation with Sirius. He understood Sirius' behavior now and was able to  
relax a little around him. Since Sirius confided in Harry with his story, he  
should share his story with Padfoot.  
       Pomfrey stalked out of her office with an owl going crazy behind her. "I  
believe you have a visitor Mr. Potter," she said dryly. "I'd highly appreciate  
it if you could calm her down." She walked back in to her office muttering about  
crazy owls.  
       "Hedwig!" Harry exclaimed. She flew over to him and started nipping  
lightly at his hand. {Where have you been? And what happened?! I came back to  
those muggles and you were gone!}  
       "Oh Hedwig I'm sorry! Remus and Sirius saved me...wait," Harry said  
slowly. "Am I really hearing you speak Hedwig?" he whispered softly. "Oh Merlin,  
I've gone insane!" he groaned and buried his head in his hands, much like his  
godfather had done a few hours ago. He felt a nipping at his right ear and  
looked up.  
       {Harry, you can hear me?} he heard a voice in his head question.  
       "Oh I have gone crazy!"  
       "No more then the rest of Mr. Potter, I'm sure," he heard a voice  
chuckle. He twisted around to see who was there.  
       "Professor Dumbledore! How long have you been here?"  
       "Long enough to ask why you think you're going crazy," he replied, his  
eyes twinkling as usual. He sat in the chair next to Harry's bed and waited to  
hear his reply.  
       "Well sir..." Harry fidgeted some, not sure what to say. Madame Pomfrey  
brought Hedwig over to me...and...I heard her talking," he ended quickly.  
       "Who? Poppy? Why would that make you go crazy? ...though she can be crazy  
herself sometimes," he smiled and winked at Harry.  
       "No, it was Hedwig," he mumbled.  
       Dumbledore looked at Harry intently then at the owl who was resting in  
his lap. "Of course," he murmered. "I should've though of this sooner! This will  
be wonderful for you Harry!" excitement filling his voice and face. Suddenly his  
face became dark though and Harry could almost see a red haze around him.  
       "Professor?" he questioned quietly.  
       "Oh those muggles shall pay...dearly," Dumbledore said with venom in his  
voice, highly unusual for him.  
       Harry was beginning to feel a little afraid and Hedwig started hooting at  
him comfortingly while glaring at Dumbledore for making her Harry afraid.  
       Dumbledore shook himself to clear his mind before speaking again. "I'm  
sorry Harry. I kind of got lost on a tangent...I didn't mean to scare you," he  
said gently.  
       Hedwig continued to glare at him but Harry relaxed some.   
       "Have you noticed anything...different, other then being able to hear  
Hedwig?" Dumbledore asked.  
       "Not that I know of sir," he answered quietly. "Wait...when you became  
mad earlier I could almost see a red haze around you..."  
       Dumbledore sat thinking for a few seconds. "I need to check on this Harry  
but I think I may know whats going on." He sat silently for a few minutes, lost in  
thought over what this was.   
       Hedwig was becoming more impatient than Harry so she went over and pecked  
at Dumbledore's hand.  
       "Hedwig!" Harry yelled and she hooted loudly back at him.  
       "What is going on out here?" Pomfrey bellowed, standing outside her  
office door.  
       "I'm sorry Poppy. It's my fault...I'll make sure we stay quiet,"  
Dumbledore said with a straight face.  
       "One more outburst though and you will leave, Headmaster or not," she  
said firmly before walking back in to her office and closing the door.  
       Dumbledore winked at Harry and 'petted' Hedwig. "I understand your peck  
Hedwig...I really do need to stop leaving you two in suspense," he smiled at  
Harry. "Harry, I'm going to need to ask you something first. I know you were  
severely hurt when Remus and Sirius brought you here...but for any amount of  
time, were you on the other side?" he asked gently.  
       This was something Harry really did not want to go in to but he felt like  
he had to answer Dumbledore. "I...yeah I was. I saw my parents," he whispered.  
"I got to see my parents for a moment," he finished, trying to hold back tears.  
       "Oh my boy," he murmured, pulling Harry in to a hug. Harry pulled away  
after a minute and wiped is eyes on the thin fabric of his 'hospital gown.'  
       "Why did you want to know?" he asked quietly as he looked in to  
Dumbledore's eyes.  
       "I needed to know that to make sure I was almost positive on my  
hypothesis. I know why you could hear Hedwig and saw the red haze around me.  
It's because...."  
  
  
  
******************************************************************************  
  
  
  
  
Dun dun dun! hehehe my wonderful beta, Maria, nearly killed me when I left the  
story at this part. Even she doesn't know whats going to happen. Hope yall liked  
this chapter! :)  
  



	11. Powers and Letters

**Disclaimer:** See first chapter  
  
  
Sorry for the cliffhanger people ^-^ Well not really but I had to do that lol. I  
got a 'rude' review because of it but oh well ::shrugs shoulders:: I was just  
hoping it'd make you enjoy this part more...anyway, on with the story!  
  
Oh, and { } is Hedwig speaking.  
  
  
  
Chapter 11  
  
  
        
       "I needed to know that to make sure I was almost positive on my hypothesis. I know why you could hear Hedwig and saw the red haze around me. It's because you crossed over; were technically dead for a moment. I've heard of this before but haven't heard of it happening in my life time." Dumbledore mumbled to himself for a few seconds.  
       Harry just stared at him in shock. This was too weird...and was Dumbledore planning on explaining any further? The first thing that popped out was, "Huh?".  
       Dumbledore chuckled. "Sorry, let me try to explain it some, at least as much as I  am pretty sure of. When you were with your parents some of your life force left. Once you went back to your physical body it went back with you, along with some magic you didn't know you had. All wizards and witches have magic in them that is locked inside of them; almost impossible to get to. Yours was automatically unleashed when your life force left you but stayed with it when it went back in to your body. Hearing Hedwig and seeing the red haze around me was just the tip of your new powers."  
       Harry sat staring at Dumbledore again. Hedwig fluttered her wins angrily. {You almost died? Those muggles will pay!} Harry was tired of telling everybody it wasn't the Dursley's so he just left it  
alone.  Hedwig calmed down a little and looked at him worriedly. {Are you okay?}  
       "I just found out I have more magic then most, if not all, wizards because I technically died...no, not particularly okay Hedwig," he answered with a sigh. "I will be though...I just need time to process everything."  
       "Okay Harry, I'm going to go do some research on this. Poppy can get me if you need me." Dumbledore smiled kindly at Harry then left.  
       "Ugh!" Harry groaned as he fell back against the bed and stretched his legs out.  
       {Oh! I have something for you}, Hedwig said, holding her leg out to Harry.  
       "Thanks," he said absently. He should be used to weird things happening to him by now...He was happy about it but not happy at the same time. 'Everybody will probably expect even more out of me now,' he thought glumly.  
       He was brought back to the present with an expectant hoot from Hedwig, who shook her leg with the letters on them at him.  
       "Okay, okay. Sorry girl," he said and took them off her leg. "Why don't you go outside and fly around some? Get a little fresh air for me," he smiled at her.  
       She didn't really want to leave her Harry but figured he needed some time by himself. {Okay, but I will be back soon} she said. Harry opened a window near him, just by thinking about it, and she flew out it.  
       'Well, there's another power,' he thought. He hoped Professor Dumbledore would be able to find out more information and maybe exactly what powers he should be expecting.  
       He opened the letters and saw one was from Ron and the other from Hermione.  
  
  
  _     Harry,  
Where are you? Hedwig flew over here the other day (obviously since she brought you this) but I know you aren't at the Dursley's anymore. I've heard mum and dad muttering about something having to do with it but they won't say anything to any of us. Are you okay mate? I'm guessing you're at Hogwarts or with Sirius or Remus...hope you can write me back. Ginny is driving me insane!_  
  
No, I'm not! Ron is driving me crazy! I hope you're okay Harry.  
  
_Nosy sisters…_  
  
                    _-Ron_  
  
  
He had to laugh at that. Ron and Ginny's interactions with each other were always amusing and he could picture the two of them driving each other insane at home. He sobered at the part about Mr. and Mrs. Weasley knowing something. He didn't know what they knew and this worried him. He sighed and went to Hermione's letter.  
  
  
_                Harry,  
         
       Are you okay? You haven't answered any of the letters I've sent and they weren't returned so I know you got them. Ron owled my yesterday asking if I knew where you were, so assuming you're not at the Dursley's. PLEASE write back if you get this!!  
  
_

-Hermione  


  
  
  
  
He hadn't received any letters from anybody while at the Dursley's so his Uncle Vernon must have taken them. Harry sighed, hating how this was making his friends worry. 'If only they really knew,' he thought wryly. He wasn't sure what he should tell them but knew he need to tell them something. If only he had a pen and paper...(while at the Dursley's he had decided they were easier to use than a quill and parchment).  
       'Well I have more magic now,' he thought. 'Might as well try something and see if it works.' He closed his eyes and imagined a pen and notebook sitting in his lap and waved his hand over that area. When he opened his eyes he found a red notebook with gold around the edge and a black pen sitting where he had waved his hand.  
       "Cool," he whispered, a huge grin spreading across his face. Maybe things would be okay after all. He opened the notebook to the first blank page and picked up the pen. He decided to write Ron back first.  
  
  
_             Ron,  
         
       How are you? This is the first chance I've had to write you...or anyone for that matter. You're right; I'm not at the Dursley's anymore. I arrived at Hogwarts three days ago, though I can't tell you why right now.  
       Sorry Ginny is driving you crazy mate. Tell her hi for me though.  
  
_

-Harry  


  
  
He knew Ron would be fine with that (most likely) but Hermione would want more information. He flipped to the next page and started writing.  
  
  
_             'Mione,  
  
       How are you? I'm truly sorry I never answered your letters but I really didn't know you had sent any. As I just wrote Ron, I'm at Hogwarts right now; have been for three days. I can't really explain why right now, but I'm okay.   
       How have things gone so far with you this summer? Write back!  
  
_

-Harry  


  
  
  
       He reached out with is mind to find Hedwig. She sensed this and came flying back through the window Harry had opened earlier.  
       "Can you take these to Ron and Hermione for me girl?" He tore the pages out of the notebook and folded them up.  
       She hooted and stuck her leg out for him. {Of course}, she replied.  
       "Thanks Hedwig. I'll have some nice nuts waiting for you when you get back," he grinned at her. (She loved cashews)  
  
       Right after Hedwig flew out the window, Harry heard Madame Pomfrey's office door opening. He immediately closed the window with his mind, hoping she hadn't noticed. He threw the notebook and pen under the covers and slid down on the bed, pretending to be asleep. He felt her come over lean over him. "Harry, you need to wake up now." She shook him lightly (which wasn't a good idea). Even though he was awake, and knew it was her behind him, old habits die hard. He would've rolled off the other side of the bed if it wasn't for magical rails in place to make sure he didn't fall off. He did curl up into a tight ball though and squeezed his eyes shut. (AN: remember...he's in Hogwarts cause he was being abused!)  
       "Oh Harry," she said gently. "It's just me dear; I didn't mean to scare you. Can you hear me Harry? I'm not going to hurt you," she said in the gentlest voice possible.  
       Her voice slowly pierced through his auto-response of terror. He could sense that she was safe so he relaxed and uncurled. "Sorry Madame Pomfrey," he whispered, sitting up some.  
       "Oh Harry," she said, her voice breaking. "There is nothing at all for you to be sorry about." She wanted to hug and hold him so badly but she didn't want to spook him anymore. When he looked up at her though, she felt as if he was asking for a hug so she pulled him into one.  
       After a minute or two he pulled away some. "Any reason you wanted to wake me up, or just trying to keep me from my rest?" he asked dramatically. She just smiled at him.  
       "Nope, sorry. It's my job as a medi-witch to make sure my patients never get any rest although I keep telling them to. Actually, I was going to tell you that you need to eat something." She snapped her fingers and Dobby appeared.  
       "Mr. Potter, sir! What is it you would like to eat, sir?" he asked excitedly, bouncing up and down.  
       "Um...whatever is already available is fine Dobby," he smiled at the child-like elf.   
       "Coming right up, Mr. Potter, sir," and he disappeared.  
       Madame Pomfrey looked at Harry with a look of surprise and amusement. "Is he always that...um...hyper?"  
       "No, that was him calm," he chuckled at the look on her face.  
  
       Dobby brought enough food to feed 5 people so Madame Pomfrey sent him back downstairs with 3 people's worth. (She kept one for Harry and one for herself.) She ate with Harry by his bed in a nice silence. Neither felt like they needed to talk and it just seemed more comfortable this way.  
       After eating, Harry really was becoming tired...no need to fake sleep soon. Madame Pomfrey noticed him yawning several times and snapped their food away.  
       "I think it is time for some sleep Mr.Potter," she said she as levitated two bottles from her cabinet. "One for healing and one for sleep. Drink all of them now," she said, making sure he drank all of each. He did, though making the mandatory face anyone under 30 must make when taking medicine. (hehe)  
       He slid down his bed until he was lying down completely. Pomfrey pulled his blankets up, making sure he was tucked in, then dimmed the lights. "Good night," she said and walked back in to her office.  
       'Well...maybe things will be okay soon,' he thought before drifting off in to a peaceful sleep.  
  
  
  
*******************************************************  
  
There ya go! I hope you liked this part. Probably 3 days or so until I will post more...seem to have writers-block during the weekend. It's like I can't work on it unless I'm in class supposed to be doing other work hehe. Thanks again to my beta Maria and my wonderful reviewers ^_^  



	12. Silence and Worry

**Disclaimer:** See the first chapter ^-^  
  
  
Here's another fun chapter. Enjoy! And thank you many people for my now 51 reviews :)  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 12  
  
  
Ron and Ginny were sitting in Ron's room playing chess (and hiding from the twins) when they heard a tapping at the window. Ron was too in to the game so Ginny went over to see what it was. "Hedwig!" she nearly yelled and ran over to the window, with Ron soon right behind her. As soon as she opened the window, Hedwig flew in and landed on Ron's desk. She shook her leg with the letters at him. He undid the one addressed to him and Hedwig immediately flew right back out the window. (Usually she wouldn't taken some time with them but she didn't want to leave her Harry alone for too long.)  
"Finally! A letter from Harry," Ron exclaimed as he opened the letter and saw who it was from. Ginny just rolled her eyes thinking 'duh! who else would be using Hedwig?'  
Ron proceeded to read the letter aloud so Ginny could know what it said also.  
"I wonder why Harry isn't at the Dursley's..." Ginny said.  
"Well, at least we know he is all right. He is at Hogwarts now and didn't say anything was wrong," Ron explained, truly believing everything was okay. He sat back down and stared at the chess board while Ginny just glared at him. She went over to the board, stared at it for a few seconds, then moved her piece.  
"Checkmate," she said smugly before storming out of his room. The twins saw her storm down the stairs and ask their mom to place a silencing charm on her. Mrs.Weasly looked at her daughter strangely but figured she'd get an explanation later, so she placed the charm on her.  
Ginny walked outside and almost screamed her throat raw. The usually calm Weasly was now yelling and sprouting words that would've gotten her grounded ten times over. She finally took a deep breath and walked back inside the Burrow. She looked at her mom and pointed to her wand. Her mom understood and took the silencing charm off of her.  
"Thank you," she said calmly.  
"Care to explain what that was about?" Mrs. Weasly asked.  
"Ron," Ginny answered simply. She would explain to her mother later but right now she was too afraid she would start cursing again.  
The twins looked at each other and snickered but stopped when both females turned to glare at them. "Play any pranks on my today or in the near future, and you will lose some part of your anatomy that may be of importance to you," Ginny said darkly to the twins before running up the stairs to her room.  
"Well, someone's in a bad mood," Fred whispered to George, who nodded in agreement.  
Mrs. Weasly just walked in to the muttering about how siblings should get along.  
  
  
  
  
At the same time Ginny was about to kill her brother, Hedwig arrived at Hermione's and dropped her letter off. "Thanks girl!" she yelled as Hedwig hurriedly flew back out the window. After reading Harry's letter, Hermione became even more worried. She knew Harry was alive now (thank Merlin) but she knew something wasn't right. Whenever Harry said he was 'okay' that usually meant 'oh Merlin I'm in crap but gotta tell everybody I'm fine and okay.' She shook her head wondering what was going on. She pulled out her own notebook and pen to write Harry back. She sat on her bed and thought for a while about what to write. She chewed on the pen cap for minute then started writing.  
  
_ Harry,  
  
I'm glad you wrote back, so I know you're alive now at least. But I know you are not okay, I know you better then that. What is really going on? You know you can tell me anything and I won't tell Ron if you don't want me to. Please let me help if there is anything I can do.  
My summer has been boring so far. I'm supposed to spend the next week at Ron's though so with all the Weasly's, I doubt things shall be boring there. Write back!  
  
_

-'Mione  
  
  


She sighed, hoping this was okay. She really wanted to talk to Harry in person but wasn't sure if she was allowed. She quickly added on to the letter.  
  
  
_ PS - Do you think I could come visit you sometime soon?  
  
  
_Now the letter was done. She was going to Ron's tomorrow so hopefully she could borrow their owl to send her letter. She had a feeling Hedwig wasn't coming back that night. 'Oh Harry, what's going on with you?' she thought with a sigh.   
  
  
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Just a short little transition chapter I guess...I will hopefully have more posted tomorrow but don't hold your breath lol. Hope you enjoyed it...and oh! It's not beta'd cause I wanna go ahead and post it so...well...sorry for any glaring mistakes -_-'


	13. Slippers and Laughter

**Disclaimer:** Okay, if you don't get it by now, I have no idea why I should bother...see the first chapter :p  
Author's Note: Sorry I haven't updated recently. I have so many ideas in my head for future chapters that it made this one very hard to write. Hope it doesn't suck too much though ^_^ Enjoy! lol  
  
Chapter 13  
Harry didn't wake up until about noon the next day. When he opened his eyes he saw a blurry image of Remus sitting in the chair next to him, reading.  
"Professor Lupin?" he said.  
"Harry! Good to see you've joined the land of the wake," Remus smiled at him and put his book down. He then picked up Harry's glasses and gave them to him. "Oh, and it's Remus remember?" he winked  
"Thanks...er...Remus," Harry smiled slightly as he put his glasses on. He stretched and sat up in his bed. As he stretched, his stomach growled and a blush spread across his face.  
"Ready for some lunch?" Remus chuckled.  
"Um...do you think I could eat somewhere else? The Great Hall, the kitchen, anyplace!" Harry was tired of laying around and he wanted to go someplace, anywhere other then the infirmary.  
"Of course!" Remus helped Harry out of the bed and helped him stay upright while he got his balance. (He hadn't been out of his bed for four days after all. Your balance wouldn't be perfect :p ) Just as Harry told Remus he was fine, Madame Pomfrey came out of her office,  
"And where do you think you're going with my patient?!" Pomfrey almost screeched at Remus.  
"Erm...I was going to take him to the Great Hall for lunch...he's been in here for four days and is ready to go somewhere else for a little while," Remus stuttered. It was amazing how scary Poppy could seem sometimes...  
"Were you planning on telling me this? Or rather _asking_ since Mr. Potter is currently in my care?" Pomfrey glared as she stalked slowly over to Harry and Remus.  
Harry backed up until he was right up against Remus. "Um...well...do you think I could go Madame Pomfrey?" Harry asked timidly.  
"Since you asked Harry, of course," she smiled at Harry, completely changing moods. She looked over Harry's shoulder to glare at Remus. (yep changing moods again...)  
"He is in your care for now. Anything happens to him and you will dearly wish you had never gotten up this morning." After giving Remus her glare for a few more moments, she looked down at Harry and smiled. "Have fun," then she walked back in to her office.  
Both Remus and Harry stood still for a minute or two. Harry finally turned around to look at Remus and almost laughed. Remus had a look of shock and almost fear on his face.  
"Are you all right Remus?" Harry asked, snickering.  
Remus snapped out of his daze and looked at Harry. "Erm...yes," he replied with a hint of fear still in his eyes.  
"She can be a bit scary sometimes can't she?" Harry whispered to Remus.  
"Oh yeah...well ready to get some lunch?"  
"Yeah!" Harry's stomach gave a loud growl at the same time he said that. He started walking towards the infirmary doors before he realized something and stopped. "Um Remus?"  
"What's wrong?" Remus asked.  
"Think I could get something else to wear?" Harry replied, looking down at his dinky hospital gown and bare feet. Remus laughed and swept his wand over Harry's body. Harry now had a plain black robe and black slippers. "Thanks," Harry smiled gratefully, resuming his walk to the door.  
"No problem," Remus chuckled, opening the door for Harry before going out himself. "Raise ya," he said before running down the hallway.  
"No fair!" Harry yelled as he tried to catch up.   
Snape was walking towards his dungeon after getting back from a long missing for Dumbledore. He was looking forward to the relative peace of the Hogwarts castle. It was summer so there might be two or three professors but no insolent, stupid students. Suddenly he saw two people run past him, laughing. Snape stopped and stared after the figures before registering what had just happened. As soon as he did, he turned around and stalked off towards Dumbledore's office. 'There better be a bloody good reason for this!'  
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So....what ya think? lol Not sure if I should make Snape good or bad in this story...leave a review for me with your vote and I'll go by those ^-^ Hehe another shameless way to get reviews but hey, I really do want your opinion on it lol. Oh and thanks to my wonderful beta Maria and my friend Danielle, who the next chapter will be dedicated to. Once she starts posting her story I'll put her name in here. Hope you enjoyed this chapter! 


	14. WAGARA

**Disclaimer:** Ugh, I don't own them!!! ...aka: see the first chapter lol  
And...WAGARA comes from a book my friend Danielle read (hence this being dedicated to her lol.) If you can guess the book, and what it means, you will get 100 points to the house of your choice hehe._  
  
Sorry it's been awhile since I updated. I've had some written out but been too absorbed in some stories I've been reading that I didn't really have time to type my own up. Sorry! ::ducks the many bludgers that are heading my way::  Oh! And this chapter is dedicated to my friend Danielle._  
  
Chapter 14 aka WAGARA  
  
"We're back!" Ron yelled as he ran through the Burrow's front door. Hermione and Arthur Weasley followed behind him a little slower. Ron had gone with his dad to pick Hermione up...(he loved riding in his dad's muggle car as much as Mr.Weasley did).  
       Mrs. Weasley came in to their living room and gave Hermione a huge hug. "We're so glad you could join us Hermione!...And Ron, there is no need to yell; your voice is loud enough as it is." The twins looked up from their chess game and snickered as Ron opened his mouth to comment but then immediately closed it. "Fred, George, go get Hermione's things and put them in Ginny's room," Mrs.Weasley ordered, making Ron smirk back at them. "You'll be staying in Ginny's room, is that okay?" she asked Hermione, finally pulling out of her hug with her.  
       "That's great Mrs.Weasley. Thanks for having me here."  
       "Okay mum, Hermione and I are gonna go upstairs now," Ron said as he started dragging Hermione up the stairs. Once they were in his room he closed the door and flopped down on his bed. Hermione chose to sit on the floor and lean against a pillow that was against the wall opposite his bed.  
       "Any particular reason you tried to separate my arm from my body or just felt like dragging me up here?" Hermione asked Ron while rubbing her sore arm.  
       "Sorry bout that...," he had the grace to blush. "I just wanted to warn you bout Ginny. She's been in some mood lately and since you're rooming with her...well, good luck," Ron said seriously.  
       "Do you know why she's in some mood?" Hermione asked.  
       "I have no idea! She just started acting weird and even the twins won't go near her! (wonder why...hehe).  
       "Let me guess...this wasn't just a friendly warning, but also that you want me to find out what's going on with her. Am I right?"  
       "Exactly!" Ron said, glad that Hermione was here to help. "You're a girl...you understand girl insaneness." That comment earned him a pillow in the face from Hermione.  
       "She's probably gone insane after living with you forever!" Hermione opened the door to leave but stopped for a moment and turned around. Ron looked up just in time to see her stick her tongue out at him before leaving the room.  
  
Hermione went down the hall and knocked on Ginny's door. "Ginny, it's Hermione."  
The door opened immediately and a red blur launched itself at Hermione.  
       "Hermione!" Ginny yelled as she hugged her.  
       "Oof!" Hermione gasped. "Hello," she laughed. "Think I can breathe now?"  
       Ginny instantly let go. "Sorry Mione! I'm just so glad to have another girl here." Now it was this Weasley's turn to drag Hermione into a bedroom (Ginny's this time, of course) and close the door. "Being stuck here with three teenage boys this summer has been extra horrible! Ron is being even more of a prat then usual...I'm so glad you came that you can't even imagine!" Ginny finished in one large breathe.  
       "Glad to see you too Gin," Hermione smiled. "Care to share why Ron is being even more of a prat then usual? Maybe I can help you gang up on him."  
       "Just...ugh! He is blind to things and just likes to stay in his own happy world!" Ginny groaned before diving onto her bed.  
       "Yep, sounds like Ron," Hermione commented as she sat down next go Ginny on the bed. Hermione loved Ron as a friend but he could be extremely self-absorbed most of the time.  
       "Have you heard from Harry?" Ginny asked Hermione, her face turning serious.  
       "Yes...does Harry have to do with Ron being more of a prat?"  
       "Yes! Harry wrote in his letter to Ron that he is at Hogwarts but is fine right now...and Ron believed him! He's supposedly one of Harry's best friends yet he doesn't see what's right in front of him!" Ginny ranted.  
       Hermione felt irritation at Ron rising within herself. "Oh geez...he should know by now that Harry's 'fine' usually means 'I'm horrible but don't want to tell you.' Anybody who has known him for three years should definitely know that by now!" Hermione joined in the rant. Her worry for Harry fueled her irritation at Ron and it was heading towards some serious anger!  
       "Exactly! I knew you'd understand 'Mione," Ginny said, sitting up and hugging Hermione.  
       Suddenly they heard two loud screams outside of Ginny's door, causing the two girls to jump up off the bed.  
       "Should we go see what that was?" Hermione asked worriedly.  
       "Nah...it's Fred and George. I had mom put a charm around my room so that if anybody tried to listen in, they would get a huge shock," Ginny said with a smirk. "I warned them now to do anything."  
       Hermione laughed before high-fiving Ginny. "Yep, you are definitely much smarter then the boys in your family," she said, smiling.  
       "Fred and George Weasley!" they heard Mrs. Weasley screech. Ginny and Hermione looked at each other and fell back on the bed laughing.  
  
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I hope the chapter was to your liking ^_^  I PROMISE I will update again with a serious chapter this time, before Thursday at least. Tomorrow, if I have enough time to finish writing the next chapter. And a big thanks to my wonderful beta, Maria.  



	15. Story Revealed

**Disclaimer**: I DO NOT OWN!!! ....See first chapter lol_  
  
Authors Note: Okay, this is a serious chapter (no pun intended!) so ya might want some tissues ready...well at least my beta said she was about to cry. ::shrugs shoulders:: Enjoy!_  
  
Chapter 15  
  
Harry was lying down on 'his' bed in the infirmary, extremely tired and in pain. 'I really shouldn't have run around with Remus,' he thought with an outward sigh. He just didn't want Moony to worry about him...he figured acting like he was physically fine and happy would help make Moony not worry anymore. Pain and exhaustion were definitely worth if though if it gave Moony some peace of mind. (Remus still seemed too weird so he settled on calling him Moony).  
Sirius was supposed to be coming to see him later that afternoon. He noticed a Pain Potion and Dreamless Sleep potion next to his bed so he quickly gulped them down (although not all of the sleep one since he needed to be awake in a few hours).  
When he woke up four hours later he didn't exactly feel great but definitely better. About 25 seconds after he opened his eyes, Sirius came into the infirmary.  
"Hey Harry!" Sirius greeted cheerfully.  
"Hey Sirius," Harry replied, trying to sound as cheerfull.  
"I heard Remus broke you out earlier...and was nearly attacked by Poppy in the process," Sirius smiled at Harry as he sat in the chair next to his bed.  
Harry had to smile back. "Yep, and he was quite afraid of her." Harry sat up and winced at the pain in brought but thankfully Sirius didn't seem to have noticed, so he quickly replaced his previous smile.  
"So...what would you like to do?" Sirius asked him.  
Harry remembered what he had wanted to tell Sirius and became very nervous which Sirius did noticed.  
"What's wrong Harry?" Sirius asked seriously (lol) and scooted forward in his chair.  
"Um..." Harry said. 'I don't know if I can do this now,' he thought. He took a deep breath but lost his nerve and stayed silent.  
"Harry?" Sirius asked, worry evident in his voice.  
"Please don't get mad at me," Harry finally whispered.  
"Mad? Why would I get mad at you?" Sirius was very confused now.  
"At the Dursley's...cause I didn't say anything to you before...I don't know," Harry trailed off. "You told me your story so I feel like I should tell you mine." Harry wasn't sure if he would make it through telling Sirius but he had to at least try. "Please let me tell this all the way through; no interruptions." Harry looked down at his lap and started fiddeling with his hands. Just because he was going to tell Sirius didn't mean he had to look at him. Merlin, he couldn't look at him while he told him.  
"As far back as I can remember, I wasn't exactly treated very well at my relatives. One of my earliest memories is when I was three. I was locked in the cuboard under the stairs for two days because I had asked for some water. I lived in that cuboard my while life so that part wasn't too bad. I think Uncle Vernon somehow knew this so he kicked my punishment up a notch." Harry stopped and took a deep breath.  
"On my fourth birthday, for some insane reason, I thought the Dursley's would care it was my birthday." Harry gave a bitter laugh. "When I was too slow in making their breakfast that morning, Uncle Vernon dragged me to 'my' cuboard to lock me in. I asked him not to since it was my birthday...now that was a big mistake on my part. He told me 'fine' and that he had a present for me. He then dragged me in to the back living room and beat me until I was unconsious. I woke up in my cuboard with blood all over me and I could hardly breathe." Harry heard Sirius take a deep breathe, like he was going to say something. "Please don't say anything," Harry commanded.  
"After that day, he didn't beat me quite as badly, at least until I was ten. Between when I was four and ten, I was just pushed down the stairs or slammed in to a wall and hit a few times. I was ten when things started getting bad at Uncle Vernon's work so things got worse again for me. He wold put his heavy boots on and step on or kick any body part he could get to."  
"After I started getting letters from Hogwarts he let up some and I was given Dudley's second room...I think he was scared that they knew what he was doing to me. The summers after my first and second year were horrible. My uncle, aunt, and cousin hated me because of my magic and now that I was practicing it at school, things became even worse then before." Harry stopped for a moment, his hands shaking uncontrollably in his lap. He was close to finishing so he couldn't stop now.  
"This summer was the worst though. Uncle Vernon was demoted in his job and Dudley was expelled from school for beating too many students up. Of course all of this was my fault in Uncle Vernon's eyes and he made sure I knew this. I wasn't allowed out of my room except to do the large amount of chorse I always had, with even more piled on. If I made the slightest mistake in the placement of flowers in the garden, or put Aunt Petunia's plate exactly where she wanted it, then Unlce Vernon would beat me." Harry was finding it hard to breathe and wished he had a Calming Potion and then one suddenly appeared in his lap and he gulped it down without a thought about it. He instantly felt better but knew he needed to finish his story soon.  
"He didn't care about hiding his abuse anymore but cared instead about hurting me for what he thought I did to his family. Hedwig was locked in her cage and all my things were locked away in my old cuboard. My uncle constantly slashed my stomach and back with a switchblade to make sure I was never comfortable, and later added cuts to my arms. I was pushed down the stairs and hit in the head at least twice a week. Usually he would just kick me in my chest or step on my wrist, trying to cause the most pain." Harry absent-mindedly rubbed the mentioned wrist with his other hand.  
"The day you and Moony found me was the end of the worst week. Dudley had made a sport of inviting his friends over to beat me up and such and they were in even more of an 'evil' mood. There was also talk at my uncle's work of him being fired, which completely sent him over the edge. How you found me that night was the result of him acting on what he thought I did to him." Harry was becoming over-filled with emotions. If he didn't finish this soon he would lose what little control over his emotions he still had, but there was a part he still he needed to tell Sirius.  
"Oh Harry," Sirius whispered.  
"I'm not done yet." Harry now had a death grip on his arm instead of rubbing his other wrist. The paint from his arm was helping to keep him grounded. "I...well I'm not sure what to call it...the night you and Moony found me, I had a dream or vision type thing. I thought it was a dream at first but it wasn't...," Harry took a deep breathe. "I was technically dead for a few moments from Uncle Vernon's beatings...so I was in the area of 'between life and death....and I saw my parents. They had been watching over my my whole life from that area...so I saw them. But they made me come back here...I just wanted to stay with them," Harry whispered the last few words. The tears he had with-held finally came flowing out. He squeezed his eyes shut tight and his grip became even harder on his arm. He was so afraid of how Sirius would react to everything...Merlin, he just wished he would stop crying!  
"Oh pup," he heard a voice whisper before feeling arms wrap around him. He froze but fought his instinct to scoot away. It was just Sirius...he would never hurt him. He could literally 'feel' the love for him coming off of Sirius so he finally let go of his emotions and pressed against Sirius's arms, his tears now flowing freely. The tears of pain he hadn't been able to release for so long...he was now able to. He felt a few wet drops on his neck and knew that Sirius was crying also. After thirty minutes or so, Sirius and Harry pulled apart, both wiping the remnants of their tears off their faces.  
"If I knew what was happening...oh Merlin, I'm so sorry Harry," Sirius choked out.   
Harry sighed, knowing Sirius would blame himself somehow. "There's nothing you could've done. The only people's whose fault it is, is the Dursley's. They're the ones who hurt me and almost killed me," Harry said, loathing coloring his voice as he thought of the Dursley's after his emotional pain was out, he was now angry...though Sirius appeared even more.  
"And I'm gonna kill them for it," Sirius growled.   
"Sirius don't! You'll be worse than them, and plus that will give the Ministry a real reason to lock you up again!" Harry almost yelled this at Sirius.  
"Fine I won't kill them...but I will have a little fun with them. Ya know...maybe a few hexes or so...?" Sirius said, looking hopefully at Harry.  
"I'm going to pretend I didn't hear that," was his answer, which Sirius took as a yes.  
"Just know, I love ya pup. Always have and always will, and I will make sure those people never go near you again," Sirius swore.  
After spilling his story and then all those tears, Harry was feeling physically and emotionally drained. Sirius could see the tiredness in his eyes and grabbed a sleeping potion off a nearby table. "I think ya might need this. Just don't make a habit of taking it too much, it's addictive," Sirius warned, as he handed the bottle to Harry.  
"Thanks," Harry said gratefully as he drank about half the bottle. "This should be enough." Harry was already starting to feel groggy so Sirius helped him slide down onto his bed until he was laying down. "I love you too, Sirius," Harry mumbled before succombing to his much needed sleep.  
Sirius brushed the hair away from Harry's forehead and gave a sad smile. "I really did wish I was wrong Harry...but I will make sure those muggles will pay." After making sure the blankets were close enough to Harry, Sirius strode out of the infirmary...he had plans to make for revenge on certain muggles...and it had to be good.  
  
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Okay...so what ya think??? ^_^ I will post more within the next few days...if not tomorrow then Sunday. Going to an AFI concert on Sat hehe...  
  
And once again, thanks to my beta-Maria ^_^  
  
Oh!!! And from a previous poll, I have decided Snape will be nice. And for those reviews I've gotten about Harry's friends; they will find out soon. Hermione and Ginny before Ron though. And that leads to another poll...who should I have Harry with? Ginny or Hermione? And there won't be any Hermione/Ron so there ya go!  
  
One last thing...please read my Harry Potter Musical thing..well at least if you watch Buffy, cause then it will make more sense.   
  
REVIEW REVIEW REVIEW!! lol...ya know, if ya want to ;) 


	16. Prat and Howling

**Disclaimer**: See first chapter...I still don't own them!  
  
  
  
  
  
Chapter 16  
  
  
  
  
Dinner at the Weasley's on Hermione's first day was a little tense; to say the lease. Ginny, Hermione, and Mr. and Mrs. Weasley sat on one side of the table, with Ron, Fred, George, and Percy on the other. Fred and George were unusually quiet, still subdued from their experience earlier; Ginny and Hermione glared at Ron whenever they had the chance, but he was oblivious to this (as usual), and Percy was in a mood after having one of his friends ditch him because she thought Cornelious Fudge was an idiot (which he was but nobody would ever convince Percy of this). The only ones who were actually talking at the table were Mr. and Mrs. Weasley. Halfway through the dinner Ginny and Hermione had enough of the tenseness and both jumped up at the same time, declaring, "We're going up to our room," then ran to the stairs and up them,  
"I still can't believe you'd do that to us mum!" Fred exclaimed as soon as both of the girls were gone.  
"Yeah! Shocking your own sons!" George chimed in.  
"You did it to yourselves. Ginny asked me for help, which I gave, and it's your own fault you were shocked," Mrs. Weasley said sternly.  
"Should I even ask?" Mr. Weasley said, glancing between the twins and his wife.  
"Ginny asked me to place a charm around her room, shocking anybody who tried to eavesdrop on her. George and Fred tried to be sneaks so they were given a consequence for it," Mrs. Weasley glared at the twins as she said this.  
"Boys...," Mr. Weasley said warningly. "I think we need to have a talk after dinner."  
Percy looked at Fred and George as they groaned. "I hope you have learned your lesson," he said sternly.  
"Oh sod off," the twins said together.  
"Boys!" Mrs. Weasley shrieked.  
"Oy. I think I'm gonna head upstairs too," Ron muttered, quickly heading for the stairs.  
  
Once he was upstairs he headed for Ginny's room. He opened the door and walked in and sat down on the floor. "Things are getting crazy down there!" he exclaimed.  
"Ron!" Ginny and Hermione both yelled. "This is my room Ron! Ever hear of knocking?" Ginny said angrily.  
Ron jumped up and started inching towards the door. He really didn't want to deal with another angry redhead right now, after escaping from several downstairs.  
"Oh bug it!" Ginny exclaimed. "Want me to get us something eat?" she asked Hermione.  
"Sure," Hermione replied.  
Ron moved out of Ginny's way before she could shove him through the door and down the stairs (which he was pretty sure she would do).  
"Wow...what's her problem?" Ron asked, truly confused.  
"You don't know?" Hermione growled in frustration.  
"No, I don't!" Ron growled also. "I just asked you! And remember, right after you got here, I asked you to find out what's up with Ginny!"  
"So what? You're just here to pump me for information?" Hermione was becoming even angrier at Ron.  
"Well, what else would I want to pump you for?" Ron fired back at her. Once they both realized what he had said, the tips of Ron's ears turned red and Hermione just smirked; too angry at Ron to be embarrassed by it.   
Ginny ran back into the room, unknowingly saving Ron for any further embarrassing comments. "I got food!" she announced brightly to Hermione, before noticing Ron was still there. "Oh...you're still here?" Ginny glared at Ron.  
"Yeah well...umm...just leaving," he said as he backed over to the door and walk out.  
Ginny immediately slammed her door shut again. "He still doesn't get it does he?" she asked Hermione.  
"No," Hermione groaned. It was one thing for him to be so blind about Harry, but not even knowing why it was wrong to just burst into a girls' room was another. 'Harry!' she thought, suddenly remembering.  
"Oh! Do you think I could borrow an owl to send a letter to Harry?" Hermione asked Ginny.  
"Of course. Percy just got one, which will be easier to borrow then Pig. I'll be right back," Ginny promised as she opened her door and ran back out.  
Hermione had just enough time to pull out her letter to Harry before Ginny came running back in, an owl on her shoulder.  
"Here ya go," Ginny said, the owl flying over to Hermione and landing next to her. "Her name is Priscilla, Priss for short," Ginny rolled her eyes.  
"Can you deliver this to Harry Potter at Hogwarts for me?" Hermione asked, tying the letter to the owl's leg. Priss hooted, her way of saying 'of course.' "Thank you. Please try to deliver it quickly." Hermione opened Ginny's window and Priss flew right out.   
"Thanks Ginny," Hermione said gratefully, closing the window.  
"No problem, Percy was glad to help...though he is probably still going on with his speech about friendship," Ginny laughed.  
"Sounds like something he should be telling Ron," Hermione said dryly.  
Suddenly both girls stomachs growled, making both of them blush.  
"Well, I guess we should start in on the food I brought up," Ginny suggested.  
Both of them sat on the floor and grabbed a sandwich from the tray. Since they were by themselves, they forwent manners and dug in hungrily.  
"Much better then sitting at the table," Ginny smiled, swallowing part of her sandwich.  
The two girls heard a loud screech from Mrs. Weasly downstairs.  
"Oh yeah," Hermione agreed and both girls started laughing.  
  
  
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(Back at Hogwarts)  
  
Sirius had stayed with Harry until he was sure his godson was deep in sleep. Once he left the infirmary, he knew exactly where he needed to go. He ran out of the castle and transformed in to Padfoot before continuing to the Forbidden Forest. He ran until he couldn't anymore and started howling. He howled his anger at the Dursley's; he howled for what happened to Harry; and he howled his promise that now more harm would come to his godson.   
He stayed in the forest for another half an hour before heading back to the castle. He stayed in his animagus form until he was right at the front door to Hogwarts. He came out of his form long enough to open the door, then was back to being Padfoot. He still had a little ways to go before he was to his room, and he didn't want anybody to see him and asked what was wrong. Once he was in front of the painting to his room he turned back to his usual self and gave the password 'marauders' and went in. He blindly made his way into one of the main room and collapsed onto a couch. He felt completely emotionally drained and just couldn't register anything.  
That was how Sirius didn't even realized Remus had entered his room until he felt a hand on his shoulder. Sirius jumped up from the couch, ready to defend himself. Once he saw it was just Remus, he visibly relaxed and fell back onto the couch.  
"Remus! What are you trying to do, give me a heart attack?" he exclaimed.  
"No, I was trying to get your attention. I knocked on your portrait several times but finally let myself in when you didn't answer. I found you sitting here on the couch, staring off into space. I called your name but you didn't respond...I almost thought you were petrified," Remus explained, worry still heavy in his words.  
"Oh," Sirius said quietly, going back to staring off into space.  
"Sirius, what's wrong?" Remus asked, sitting down next to him on the couch. When he looked closer he noticed the tear stains on Sirius's face. "Hate to be redundant here, but what's wrong?" Remus said, becoming even more concerned about his friend.  
"I can't believe it," Sirius whispered, "...what they did to him." Sirius closed his eyes and clenched his hands into tight fists.   
Remus was confused, having no idea what Sirius was talking about. Wait...didn't he go see Harry earlier...?  
"Is it Harry?" Remus asked.  
"He didn't deserve any of that...he's been through so much in his short life...oh Merlin, I'll kill them!" Sirius whispered the first part but almost yelled the last. He jumped up and started pacing around the room, a maniacal look his eyes.  
'This can't be good,' Remus thought. "What happened to Harry?" he asked Sirius, which stopped his pacing.  
Sirius wanted to tell Remus but this was Harry's secret to tell...but Sirius needed someone to talk to about this. 'Arghh,' he growled to himself inwardly. "I can't say," Sirius sighed, going back to the couch.  
"Is there anything I can do? To help you or Harry?" Remus asked gently, understanding that if Sirius said he couldn't tell, then he really couldn't.  
"Just be there for Harry...not expecting anything out of him. Any you're my best friend Moony, but could you please leave me for now? I need some time to myself," Sirius said, sadness evident in his voice.  
"Of course. Will you be coming up for breakfast tomorrow?" Remus asked, a little hurt that Sirius wanted him to leave, though he did understand.  
"I'm not sure...it not, I'll come find you later on," Sirius promised.  
Remus squeezed Sirius's shoulder before getting up and letting himself out.  
Sirius could feel the tears that he held back during Remus's visit start to come out. "Oh Harry," he whispered, before putting his head in his hands and letting the tears flow out.  
  
  
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Well, I hope you enjoyed this installment hehe ^_^ Danielle said she felt like crying so hey, to me thats always a good sign lol. Well, at the last part...the first part just made her laugh. Oh! and this isn't beta'd cause I wanted to go ahead and post this so if there any obvious mistakes, I'm sorry!  
I kept meaning to do this but will hopefully keep up with it each chapter. Just wanted to thank all my wonderful reviewers! passionwriter4life, Wiccan PussyKat, JessieRose, aznviolin (beta!), evanescence55, Silvercrystal77, Kelei, lyss33 scholcomp25, Raven Potter Weasley, Mar-22, Elvett, ckat44, Kelei, LAURA, Aozora-Miyako Shuki, Makotochi, Earthmom, ILOVETOWRITE456, FantaSea-Dreamer, Sarah, Alexiel11, Isfad, athenakitty, Pakerin Pyros, amanda, FroBoy, Darkluminance, Wynjara  
  
AN: Okay, for those Buffy fans reading this. There is a line in my story from Buffy. If you know which episode it is from you get 500 points to your house of choice; if you know what line it is, you get 200.   
  
AN 2: My friend FantaSea-Dreamer finally posted her JAG story! So if you like JAG go read it! And even if you've never seen the show (which I haven't lol) it's still pretty good. So go read and review for her!! 


	17. Crazy Owls

**Disclaimer:** If you still don't get it, I'm surprised you can read at all...I don't own them!!!  
  
  
  
_Eh...I've been meaning to post this, I swear! 2nd semester of your senior year sucks lol as far as crap you have to get done...but here's another chapter anyway! lol_  
  
  
  
Chapter 17  
  
  
  
  
Harry woke up the next morning feeling somewhat better. It was amazing how much talking to Sirius had helped. He was nowhere being fine yet but at least he had someone who understood what happened to him, and someone he could talk to, if he chose to. He was brought out of his thoughts by an impatient tapping at the window across from his bed. He waved his hand to open the window and let the owl in that was causing the noise.  
'Hello. Who are you?' he asked the owl.  
'My name is Priscilla; I belong to Percy Weasley.' She ruffled her feathers to try and look important. 'Are you Mr. Harry Potter?'  
'Nice to meet you Priscilla, and yes I am,' Harry replied.  
'This letter is for you.' Priscilla stuck out her leg and as soon as Harry had removed the letter, she flew off.  
'Thank you.' Harry waved his hand again and the window closed.  
He unrolled the letter, and seeing it was from Hermione, he started reading it. After he finished, he sat in thought for about ten minutes. He knew what he needed to do and so he called some paper and pen to himself.  
  
  
_ Dear 'Mione,  
  
How are you? I hope things are going well at the Weasley's...aka, you and Ginny haven't killed Ron yet.  
There's something I need to tell you but I wish to do it in person. If you can come to Hogwarts that'd be great, but please don't tell Ron.   
I'm gonna ask Dumbledore to make it'll be okay and I'll owl you back later.  
  
Tell Ginny I said hi!  
  
  
~Harry  
  
  
_He rolled the letter up and magically sealed it. 'Hedwig,' he called for her in his mind. She immediately flew over from her perch on a nearby table.  
'Yes?'  
'Can you please deliver this to Hermione?' Harry asked.  
'Of course.' She stuck out her leg and let him tie in on. She nipped lightly at his fingers before he opened the window for her and she left. He decided to go ahead and leave the window open to let some air in, and so Hedwig could come right back in without having to wait for him to open it.  
  
Harry was wondering when he'd get a chance to talk to Dumbledore about Hermione visiting, when through the infirmary doors came Dumbledore.  
"Ah, Harry, you're awake," Dumbledore smiled. "Would you like some breakfast?" he asked.  
Harry though about it for a few seconds before answering, "Yes," fairly enthusiastically.  
Before Dumbledore could summon a house-elf, a try of food appeared before Harry. Both wizards stared at it in shock before Harry smiled sheepishly.  
"Um...I think I accidentally did that," he admitted.  
Dumbledore just laughed, making the twinkle in his eyes even brighter.  
"Professor Dumbledore? Do you think Hermione could come visit me sometime soon? Here?" Harry asked.  
"Yes, I believe that would be all right," Dumbledore replied. He wondered why Harry didn't ask about Ron coming but figured he must have some reason.  
"Thank you!" Harry smiled at him.  
"I need to get back to my office now but if you need me just ask Poppy to get me," Dumbledore said.  
Harry glanced over at Madame Pomfrey's office and saw her asleep at her desk, but saw no reason to tell Dumbledore this. Dumbledore just happened to follow his glance though and saw Pomfrey also.   
"Or...some other way," he smiled at Harry. He winked at him before turning around and leaving the infirmary.  
  
Harry wanted to go visit Sirius or Remus but he didn't know where they were staying in the castle. So instead, he summoned a random book to himself and Your Way Back from the Light: Hidden Powers You Now Have just happened to come.  
About an hour and a half into his reading, Hedwig returned with a reply from Hermione.  
'That was fast girl,' he said, surprised that she was back so soon.  
'The winds are nice outside and Hermione took little time to reply,' Hedwig answered back, landing on the foot of his bed.  
After Harry took the letter from her, he closed his eyes and imagined a bowl of nuts in front of him. When he opened his eyes they were right in front of him.  
'Thank you Hedwig.' He pushed the bowl towards her and stroked her feathers a little before reading the letter.  
  
  
_Harry,  
  
Of course I'll come! I won't tell Ron if you don't want me to, but can Ginny come visit you? She's been worried about you also. Let me know what Dumbledore says about visiting, as soon as you know.  
  
  
~Hermione~_  
  
  
Ginny's worried about me also? Harry knew that she had had a crush on him, but she was actually worried? Huh...  
When Hedwig was finally done with her nuts she looked up and saw her Harry deep in thought.  
'Are you okay?' she asked.  
'Huh?' Harry shook himself. 'Oh, yeah, I'm okay. I hate to ask you to go back again, but do you think you could deliver another letter to Hermione for me?' He quickly wrote out a reply to Hermione and was about to give it to Hedwig when suddenly, what looked like a small ball came hurtling into the room  
"Bloody hell!" Harry yelped and Hedwig flew into the air so she could protect her Harry if need be.  
The ball slowed down enough that Harry could tell it was actually Ron's owl, Pig.  
'Pig! What are you doing here?'  
'Hermione sent me. She figured you'd reply soon and didn't want Hedwig to have to fly all the way back again,' Pig replied, flying around the room.  
'That was nice of her. Could you please land so I can give you the reply?'  
Pig immediately stopped, realizing something, and flew over to Harry slowly.  
'You can understand me?'  
'Yes smarty, he can,' Hedwig hooted.  
'Hedwig!' Harry reprimanded. 'Yes Pig, I can understand you.'  
'That's so cool!' Pig hooted and started zooming around the room again.  
'You stupid owl! Get back over here and calm down before I get you and pluck your feathers!' Hedwig was becoming angry at the stupid, hyper owl.  
'Hedwig, please calm down,' Harry scolded as he stroked her feathers.  
Pig decided it would be in his best interest to go over to Harry and stay there, so he flew over.  
'Thank you,' Harry said, tying his letter to Pig's leg.  
'Now you can go,' Hedwig commanded.  
Pig didn't need to be told twice so he zoomed out the window and headed off to deliver his letter.  
'Hedwig! Why'd you have to be so rude?' Harry asked.  
'He's too hyper...he needs to learn to settle down. It's quite annoying,' Hedwig replied, ruffling her feathers.  
Harry just sighed and went back to his reading. At least he didn't have to feel bad about sending Hedwig out again.  
  



	18. Floo and Plans

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Disclaimer: *sigh* If you don't get it by the 18th chapter, I don't know why I should bother stating it again. But anyways…I don't own Harry Potter and such!

Chapter 18

Ginny and Hermione had agreed to be nice to Ron and start talking to him again. It wasn't really his fault he was clueless and dense; after all, he didn't ask to be born a guy. Besides, things are getting way too tense at the Burrow to stay like that for the rest of the summer.

The girls were discussing what they should tell Ron when Pig came zooming into Ginny's room, with Ron right behind him.

"Bloody owl! He nearly gave me a heart attack when he zoomed through my window. Since he darted in here, I'm assuming the letter is for one of you," Ron commented.

Hermione quickly took the letter off of Pig's leg while Ginny held him still enough for her to be able to do that. Once Hermione had the letter, Pig zoomed back out of the room.

"Ron, I think your owl needs a tranquilizer," Ginny said. Ron and Hermione both nodded in agreement as Hermione looked over the letter.

"So who is it from?" Ron asked, trying to read it over her shoulder.

Hermione quickly pressed it against her chest and said the first name that came to mind, "Zachary," she blurted out. He was their year at school but in Hufflepuff so Ron didn't like him much because of his love for studying.

"Oh," Ron snorted. He turned around and left the room.

Ginny looked questioningly at Hermione when she got up and closed the door behind Ron. "It's from Harry," she confessed, going back over to the bed and sat down on it.

"Oh, okay. What'd he say?" Ginny asked.

"Dumbledore is okay with me coming up there and Harry is fine with you coming along also, as long as Ron doesn't know about it," Hermione said.

"I'm sure we can get my mum to help us get there. Let's go talk to her," Ginny suggested.

Both girls ran down the stairs and into the kitchen (since Mrs. Weasley can almost always be found there).

"Hey mum, can you help me and Hermione with something?" Ginny asked.

"Sure honey. What is it?" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Harry is going to tell us why he is at Hogwarts but he wants us to come visit him up there. Dumbledore is fine with us coming but Harry doesn't want Ron to come or know about it," Ginny blurted out quietly, just incase Ron was somewhere nearby.

"Well first off, where you planning on asking your father or I before deciding you were going?" Mrs. Weasley asked Ginny, raising her eyebrow up.

Ginny and Hermione both blushed and muttered, "whoops."

Mrs. Weasley just shook her head and rolled her eyes upward before continuing. "Yes, you may go, though Hermione needs to ask her parents also. And I think I can come up with a way to keep your brother from knowing what is going on. But first I need to speak to Dumbledore. Go find Ron and make sure he doesn't come down here for awhile while I contact Albus."

"Thanks mum."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley," Ginny and Hermione said at the same time before running back up the stairs to find Ron.

Mrs. Weasley went over to the fireplace and threw some floo powder into the fireplace.

"Albus Dumbledore, Headmaster's office at Hogwarts," she said clearly into the flames.

A moment or two later Dumbledore's head appeared.

"Ah, Molly, I was wondering when I would hear from you. Is this about the girls coming up to Hogwarts?" he smiled.

"Yes it is." Mrs. Weasley was no longer surprised by Dumbledore knowing what she was going to say before she even got a chance to say it.

"It is fine with me if they come up here…in fact I think it will be good for Harry to see them. And before you ask, I do not know why Harry does not want Ron to come up also."

Molly quickly spoke up before Dumbledore could answer another unasked question of hers. "When should I bring the girls?"

Dumbledore stroked his beard for a moment as he thought. "I think Tuesday would be good; if that's alright with you. Two days should be enough time for everyone to get ready."

"Certainly Albus. I'll see you then."

Dumbledore's head retreated from the fire and the fireplace returned to normal.

"Right then," she murmured to herself. "Time to tell the girls." She walked up the stairs and knocked on Ginny's door.

"Were you able to keep Ron away?" she asked.

"Yep. He was busy trying to keep Pig from destroying his room and attacking him," Ginny stated, while both girls snickered. "Were you able to speak to Professor Dumbledore?"

"Yes I did," Mrs. Weasley replied as she shut the bedroom door. Both girls jumped up from the bed when they heard those words. "I'll be taking you up there on Tuesday, assuming Hermione gets permission from her parents.

Ginny launched herself at her mother and gave her a big hug while Hermione bounced in place and smiled brightly.

"Thank you!" they both said at the same time, making Mrs. Weasley smile.

"And I think I have come up with a plan. Hermione's parents will call here, inviting Ginny to go on a trip with them and Hermione. We can ask them to call tomorrow after Hermione asks them about going," Mrs. Weasley added in. "That will explain why you two will be gone. But of course you have to get some things before going on the trip so I will floo with you to Diagon Alley. We can actually look around awhile if you want to, then I'll Apparate us to the Hogwarts border, where I will escort you into the school of course. The story will be that I took you to Hermione's house and saw the two of you off on your trip. How does that sound?"

Hermione and Ginny stared with wide eyes at Mrs. Weasley. 

"Wow mum! I didn't know you could come up with a plan like that!" Ginny finally exclaimed.

Mrs. Weasley just chuckled. "Well, I think it's part of being a parent." She was about to open the door to leave but turned back around. "Oh, and don't worry. I won't tell Arthur anything. Merlin knows he'd let it slip somehow," she sighed before leaving the room, shutting the door behind her.

As soon as she was gone, both girls fell back onto Ginny's bed (they sure seem to do that a lot don't they?).

"We're actually getting to go," Ginny smiled.

"Yep," Hermione smiled back and they laid in a comfortable silence.

They were actually getting to see Harry and hopefully would find out what was going on with one of their best friends. The thought of what might be going on Harry though soon filled both their heads and the smiles quickly left their faces.

"I wonder what will happen when we actually get there though," Hermione said softly, voicing both of their thoughts.

"Yeah," Ginny murmured. Hopefully it was something that wasn't too bad but knowing Harry, it probably was.

*****************************************************************

Okay, I meant to post sooner I swear! I was going to, but I got stuck on the story. I actually have more written but I felt bad about having not posted in awhile so I went ahead and just typed this part. We had spring break this past week, which is why this wasn't done sooner. I know that sounds crazy but I have discovered something; I cannot write fan fiction unless I am in a class and am supposed to be doing school work lol. My friend is the same way so I'm not too weird though. Yep lovely babbling here…anyways. Here's my thanks:

My beta Maria (as always), Wynjara, Jalen I., Malfoyfreak4ever, Wiccan Pussykat, yami no rose, kelei, lyss33, Charlie_potter1, HecateDeMort, Lady Phoenix Slytherin, Fox666, Silvercrystal77, and Athena kitty.

Oh, one more thing!! I have heard from several people that they want longer chapters, while some others want me to post sooner. I'm sorry, but you can't have both lol. So leave your vote in a review and I'll tell you in the next chapter what shall happen. Thanks for reading!! …and review!! ^_^


	19. Screeching and Snape

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Disclaimer: I still don't own them *sigh*

Okay well based on the votes I got so far, I will be posting more regularly but not necessarily with long chapters…it will all depend on how much I have written after a few days. The first part of this chapter is going to have the last little bit of chapter 18 because part of this should have gone with it, but I really wanted to post that night. *takes a breath* okay, enjoy!

(From last chapter):

They were actually getting to see Harry and hopefully would find out what was going on with one of their best friends. The thought of what might be going on Harry though soon filled both their heads and the smiles quickly left their faces.

"I wonder what will happen when we actually get there though," Hermione said softly, voicing both of their thoughts.

"Yeah," Ginny murmured. Hopefully it was something that wasn't too bad but knowing Harry, it probably was.

(Now on to this chapter)

Chapter 19

Before the two girls thoughts could get too dark, Fred and George banged on the bedroom door before opening it.

"Hide us!" they both yelled before running towards the closet.

Both girls quickly sat up, completely confused as to what was going on.

"Why?" Ginny asked.

"How come?" Hermione asked at the same time.

"We tried to prank Ron…," Fred explained.

"But pranked mum instead…," George added.

"So we're both dead!" they exclaimed together, trying to shove both of themselves into Ginny's small closet.

"Fred and George Weasley!" they heard Mrs. Weasley thunder. "You come out here this instance!"

Ginny's door banged open once again, this time with Mrs. Weasley standing in the doorway. Her face was red from anger and you could almost see the steam coming out of her ears.

Hermione and Ginny looked at each other fearfully before pointing to the closet where Fred and George were trying to hide.

"You two come out here now! You are in serious trouble and I don't suggest making it worse!"

Fred and George moved away from the closet and went over to their mother, trying to explain what happened.

"We were trying to get Ron…"

"But go you instead…"

"It was a complete accident…"

"We really didn't mean to…"

"We're sorry!" they ended together.

Mrs. Weasley just glared at them with her hands on her hips and her lips pursed. "Both you of you, downstairs. Now."

The twins gulped at looked back at the girls, pleading silently for them to save them. The girls just gave them sympathetic looks before shrugging their shoulders lightly.

"What part of 'now' do you not understand?!" Mrs. Weasley yelled, causing everyone to jump. The twins immediately ran down the stairs while Mrs. Weasley glared after them. "Sorry about that," she apologized, turning around to face the girls.

"It's okay Mrs. Weasley," Hermione said while Ginny nodded.

"Oh, and Hermione, I called your parents. It's fine with them if you go to Hogwarts and they are going to call tonight to help with our plan," Mrs. Weasley smiled slightly before turning back around and closing the door behind her. Even after the door was closed and she was downstairs, the two girls could still hear her yelling at the twins.

Ginny and Hermione sat in silence for a moment before cracking up.

"Good Merlin!" Hermione exclaimed. Your brothers are dead!"

"Can you blame my mum? Her hair…," Ginny laughed.

After a minute or two the girls were able to stop laughing somewhat and regain their breath.

"Why didn't she just fix it?" Hermione asked.

"It's the twins newest invention. It last for 72 hours and can't be reversed by any magic," Ginny explained, trying not to start laughing again.

"Do all of them cause silver and green hair?" Hermione asked, also trying to keep her breathing normal.

"Nah, they have some gold and red for the Slytherins," Ginny grinned.

"Your brothers are going to be in so much trouble for turning your mum's hair green and silver," Hermione smirked.

"I wonder what will happen…," Ginny said. Hermione was about to start guessing when they heard a screech from downstairs.

"What do you mean it won't wear off for 72 hours?!"

Both girls looked at each other again and started laughing all over again.

****

*Back at Hogwarts*

After he was done speaking with Molly Weasley, Dumbledore went down to the infirmary to tell Harry about the conversation. When he got there though, Harry was asleep. Hedwig looked up from her perch near his bed and stared at Dumbledore, as if warning him not to wake her Harry. Dumbledore just smiled at Hedwig before leaving the infirmary quietly. He was almost back to his office when he noticed Snape coming down the hallway.

"Ah, Severus. Good to see you, my boy. When did you get back?" Dumbledore smiled at Snape.

Snape just raised his eyebrow at him. "I thought you would've known when I got back to Hogwarts."

Dumbledore just chuckled. "I do my boy; just making conversation. Would you care to come to my office for a moment?"

Snap sighed, knowing that the request was more of a polite command. "Of course, Albus."

Once they were both in Dumbledore's office and in their customary seats, Dumbledore pulled out his bowl of candy.

"Lemon drop?" he asked Snape who just shook his head 'no'.

'Will the man ever stop asking me that question?' Snape growled inwardly.

After waiting in silence for two minutes, Snape was tired of waiting for Dumbledore to speak so he finally spoke up first.

"Is there any real reason you wanted me up here, Albus?" Snape asked.

"Oh, yes, of course," Dumbledore said, clearing away his thoughts. "I was hoping you could make a potion for me, but with no questions asked. It's purpose will be revealed in due time but until then, nobody can know of it and even you cannot know of its true purpose."

The last parts made Snape interested. "What potion?"

"The Viagras potion," Dumbledore answered.

Snape opened his mouth to ask why but remembered what Dumbledore had said previously so he closed his mouth and just nodded.

"Good," Dumbledore smiled. "Thank you Severus."

Snape just nodded again before getting up and leaving. 

Once Snape was out of his office, Dumbledore pulled out a stack of papers. "Very good," he murmured to himself, smiling as he grabbed a quill and started writing on one of the numerous papers.

As soon as he was out of Dumbledore's office, Snape started muttering at he stalked down the hallway. (does he know any other way to walk?)

"Viagras? What does he need that for? Fool won't even let me know why I'm making such a potent potion and what it will be used for," he growled. 

Soon his chambers where in sight and he quickly gave the password 'Ennervate.' As soon as he was in, he went straight to his favorite couch and sat down with a sigh of relief. Finally, he could be left in some peace! Suddenly he heard a 'pop' and a house-elf appeared in front of him.

"Um…Mr. Snape, sir, Madame Pomfrey wants the healing potions, sir," the elf stuttered.

Snape sighed again, but not in relief this time.

"I will take them to the Miss if you want sir," the elf added quickly, noticing how agitated the man was becoming.

"No, I will take them. Thank you," he nodded his head slightly at the elf, who quickly disappeared with another loud 'pop'.

It would've been much easier to have the house-elf take the potions to Poppy but he didn't want to chance something happening to them and having to remake all of them. So he gathered all of them in a box and levitated them up to the Hospital Wing. He pushed the doors open and stalked in there.

"Poppy, I have your potions!" he yelled.

Pomfrey came running out of her office, looking ready to raise hell. "Will you be quiet?" she hissed. "I have a patient who is getting some much needed sleep!" she growled at him softly.

Snape just raised his eyebrow and her words. "Oh," he drawled. "It it is summer, and as far as I know, all teachers here are just fine."

Pomfrey became flustered, not sure if Snape was supposed to know about Harry and what she should tell the Potions Master.

"Well there is someone here, but I am not allowed to speak of him…other then, be quiet!"

Snape's eyebrow went up even higher, if that was possible. "Not supposed to know? But yet I am to remain quiet for a cause that is unknown to me?" he asked dryly.

"Yes!" she screeched, immediately covering her mouth.

"Leave. Now!" she hissed at Severus before turning around and hurrying off to behind the curtains.

"Interesting," he muttered to himself. He stood there a moment, trying to decide where to stay or to leave. Being a Slytherin, he chose to stay and find out what was going on.

"Horen," he whispered, pointing his wand at himself. This spell would let him listen in to specific conversations without being in the immediate vicinity of if.

"I didn't wake you up, did I?" he heard Poppy ask.

"No," another voice answered.

Try as he might, Snape couldn't quite place the voice with a name or face.

The mystery voice suddenly whispered, "Someone is listening."

Snape was gaping in surprise at the curtain area when Poppy came out from where she had been.

"What do you think you are doing?" she shrieked at Snape. "I tell you to leave so you decide to stay and eavesdrop? Get. Out. Now!" she thundered, almost shaking in rage.

Since even Snape had enough common sense to leave at that point, he turned around and left, his robes billowing around him.

Pomfrey immediately went over to her fireplace and threw some powder in to it before yelling, "Headmaster!" A moment later she started screeching, making it evident that Dumbledore had answered.

"You will not believe what Severus just did!"

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Well I wasn't really sure how to end it, but that seems pretty good to me! I hope you enjoyed this chapter *bows* and thanks go out to:

Maria aka Aznviolin, Danielle aka FantaSea_Dreamer, Pure Black, Foxx666, Amyaggie, Silvercrystal77, Lyss33, Wiccan Pussykat, Malfoyfreak4ever, Dark Phoenix in Flight, HecateDeMort, Charlie-Potter1, Kelei, and Athenakitty.


	20. Yelling and Shopping

**Disclaimer:** I still don't own anything you'd recognize from HP books.   
  
_  
AN: Sorry it's been so long since I last updated. I know I said I'd do it sooner w/shorter chapters but a lil thing called school got in the way lol. It's all over now though ...at least until August, when I will start college! I promise I'll try to work on this more during the summer :_)  
  
  
  
Chapter 20  
  
Harry was supposed to be asleep but he couldn't. He had woken up a few minutes ago and he just stared up at the ceiling. He was in the middle of counting the tiles when he heard someone yell about having potions. Harry's eyes opened impossibly wide and he sat straight up.   
'It's Snape!' he thought, He knew the voice after hearing it for three years and the potion part itself was a dead giveaway. 'Snape is here?' he thought worriedly. He cursed quietly under his breath, making Hedwig look at him disapprovingly. (just like a mum, huh?)  
"It's Snape," he whispered to her and she seemed to nod her understanding. If it was possible for owls to have looks of disgust, then Hedwig definitely had it.  
Harry heard Pomfrey yelling fairly softly for a minute before full-out yelling; then there was complete silence. Less than 30 seconds after that, Pomfrey was at his side, asking if she had woken him up. After he assured her that she hadn't and she finally stopped fussing, he felt a sort of tingling in the air. It seemed to almost vibrate with a spell towards him and Pomfrey. It took him less then 10 seconds to realize what it was.  
"Someone is listening," he whispered to Pomfrey. A dark look covered her face and she stormed out to the front of the infirmary. The yelling that she had started before checking on him returned in full force. After a minute or two of that, the yelling stopped and he heard the Infirmary doors open and close. Harry thought the silence might be permanent but he heard Pomfrey start yelling at Dumbledore through the fireplace this time.  
'I knew it was Snape,' Harry thought with a grin. He knew Madame Pomfrey would give the Potions Professor hell and that greatly improved his mood.  
After hearing Pomfrey yell for five minutes, the silence seemed impossibly loud at the end of her conversation with Dumbledore.  
"So sorry about that Harry," Pomfrey apologized as she made her way over to Harry.  
"It's okay. You were just trying to look out for me; and it's not your fault that Snape is a spying git," Harry said with a grin.  
Pomfrey should have reprimanded him for the last comment but since it was the truth, and she was so mad at Snape, that she remained silent about it. She did ask Harry about something though.  
"How did you know Severus was listening in?"  
Harry thought for a moment before answering. "I'm not completely sure how I knew. I saw some sort of vibrations of magic in the air aimed towards us. Somehow I knew what the spell was and the caster of it," he tried to explained.  
Poppy quickly wiped the shock off of her face and just muttered "interesting" under her breath. "Well, anyways," she cleared her throat. "Professor Dumbledore is coming to see you in a few minutes."  
"Actually, I'm coming to visit right now," Harry and Pomfrey heard a voice say.  
"Ah, Albus, nice timing," Pomfrey said. "Too bad you missed Severus's performance though," she spat out.  
"Well, from the way you described it to me, I feel like I was right there watching it with you," Dumbledore said, trying not to smile. "And don't worry; I will be talking to Severus about this later."  
"Good." Pomfrey huffed. "Well, I will leave you two alone to talk." She walked back into her office, grumbling under hear breath about Snape the whole way.  
"So, Harry, how are you doing?" Dumbledore asked.  
"Good, Professor," Harry answered, hoping that Dumbledore would believe him.  
Dumbledore stared intently at Harry before saying, "Good, good. Now onto what I came here to talk to you about."  
Harry opened his mouth to say something but Dumbledore cut him off.  
"I've spoken to Mrs.Weasley, and Ginny and Hermione will be coming here in two days," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling brightly.  
Harry's face lit up at the thought of getting to see two of his friends but his smile soon turned into a frown when he thought about what would happen. He was planning on telling them why he was at Hogwarts, but now that he knew they were coming, he was having second thoughts  
"Are you alright?" Dumbledore asked, looking Harry straight in the eyes.  
"Yes, I'm fine," Harry answered, looking away.  
"Just remember Harry, they're your friends and can be of great help, if you let them in," Dumbledore said seriously. He waited until Harry looked at him before smiling reassuringly at him and turning around and leaving the room.  
Harry sighed, not sure of what he should do. Part of him truly wanted to tell Ginny and Hermione what was going on, but the other part was completely against it.  
"My life will never be simple, will it," Harry sighed quietly and Hedwig hooted back quietly.

Two Days Later

"C'mon, girls!" Mrs.Weasley yelled up the stairs.  
About ten seconds later, Ginny and Hermione both came bounding down the stairs, in quite a Ron fashion.   
"Ready!" they both yelled at the same time, grinning at each other. Mrs.Weasley shook her head at both of them but was grinning herself.  
Ron came bounding down the stairs right after the girls. "I still don't get why I can't come too," he whined. All three females sighed and tried not to strangle Ron. Ever since he heard about the girls 'vacation with Mrs.Granger' he had done nothing but whine about not getting to go.  
"We have been over this at least a hundred times Ronald," Mrs.Weasley said. "It's a girls' vacation for your sister, Hermione, and her mother. And anyways, you were not invited by Mrs.Granger, and even if you were, I still wouldn't let you go. You may not admit it, but I know you've been helping the twins with their pranks." She glared at Ron, her silver and green eyes almost glowing, as she laughed inwardly.  
"But they were trying to prank me!" Ron complained.  
"Not like it'd be the first time you helped them create something that they tried to use on you," Ginny said with a smirk.  
Ron's ears turned bright red as he remembered the last incident with that...  
"Well, that's that," Mrs.Weasley said briskly. "Come on girls. Ron, please tell your father that we have left and I should be back late tonight. Okay then, girls, pick up some powder," she said, handing a bowl of Floo powder to them. "Hermione first, then Ginny, and I'll go last. Remember to speak clearly."  
"Erm, mum," Ginny said. "Hermione's never used the Floo before."  
"Oh, well, Ginny you go first dear. Hermione, all you need to do is throw some of the power into the fire, step in, and say where you want to go...and make sure to do it quite clearly. Don't want any mishaps now."  
Ginny threw her powder into the fire, jumped in and yelled "Diagon Alley!" and disappeared. "Now you dear."  
Hermione looked at the fireplace nervously before repeating Ginny's actions, with Mrs.Weasley right behind her.  
Hermione stumbled out of the fireplace and coughed as some of the soot got caught in her throat.  
"Are you okay dear?" Mrs.Weasley asked, as she stepped out of the fireplace.  
Hermione just nodded as she coughed out the rest of the soot. "I'm okay," she finally said.  
"Good," Mrs.Weasley said. "Would you like to do some shopping first, or head straight to Hogwarts?" she asked.  
Ginny and Hermione looked at each other for a second before saying "Shopping!" 

I have a little more written but not enough to where I could put it in here and have it make sense. I feel sooo bad about taking so long to post so I hope this can tide you over. Now that I have my own laptop, I can type this up in my room whenever I want so I should hopefully post more often. I'm also getting ready to post a Stargate-SG1 fanfic I've already written. So if you like that show, go read and review please! ...once it's up of course lol.  
  
Thank you to my wonderful beta and everyone who reviewed last chapter...too lazy to go and see who all did lol.


	21. Pictures and Fishes

**Disclaimer:** Lalala...still don't own!  
  
__

_AN: Okay, instead of going right into what Hermione, Ginny, and Mrs.Weasley have bought lol I'm gonna skip to something else that is going on at the same time. I have tried to be a little inventive so hopefully you'll enjoy it_   
  


Chapter 21  
  
Sirius knew that two of Harry's friends would be coming to visit him at Hogwarts today so he figured Harry wouldn't notice if he wasn't around. This was just the chance he was looking for, to go forward with his plan. He had given it much thought, and loved what he had come up with so far. Moony was always more of the planner type but he did pretty well if he said so himself. Definitely not as much as he thought was deserved, but this way he could promise Harry that he didn't do anything that would send him to Azkaban for a real reason.  
Anyone who happened to be walking down Privet Drive at the same time as him might think he looked a little strange. He had made sure to leave his wizarding robes on but had used a spell to make sure nobody on the streets would recognize him from the muggle newspapers and news shows. Aside from the robes, he had a wide smile on his face but a smile that was obviously devious or evil. The fact that he was obviously holding something in his pocket was a bit peculiar as well.  
The closer he got to Number 4 Privet Drive, the tighter his grip on his wand became. Now was the time he could get revenge on those stupid muggles for what they did to his godson. He wasn't able to save him from his relatives, but he'd make sure that they never hurt him again.  
When he knocked on the door of Number 4 Privet Drive, Dudley Dursley was the one to answer. As soon as he saw the clothing Sirius had on, a look of fear filled his face and Dudley backed away from the door.  
"Are your parents here?" Sirius asked politely, with a sinister smile.  
"Who is it Dudley?" a voice yelled from further in the house.  
"It's...it's...it's one of them! One of the freaks!" Dudley yelled as slammed the door closed.  
"What the hell is one of them doing here?" Vernon Dursley said as he came to the door. Before he could utter another word, the front door flew open with a 'bang'.  
"Didn't your mother ever teach you it isn't nice to close a door in someone's face? I have just came to visit with your parents," Sirius said to Dudley. "Ah, there is your father," Sirius said, as he noticed Vernon standing off to the side. "Vernon Dursley, am I correct?" Sirius chuckled at the look on the father and son's faces.  
"What do you want, you freak?" Vernon spat out, as he tried to gather his courage together.  
"I am no freak," Sirius growled as he pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at Vernon. "You, though, are a freak. A freak that abuses his own family member. A young boy who has never done anything wrong towards you...yes, I do believe, Vernon, that makes you the freak." Sirius growled.  
Dudley went running from the room and yelled for his mother. "Mum! Mum! One of the freaks has a stick on dad!"  
"What part of me not being to a freak can you not get through your fat head?" Sirius asked, his grasp on his wand tightening.  
Petunia came running into the room but stopped and gasped loudly when she saw the stranger holding a wand that was pointed at her husband.  
"What are you doing?!" she shrieked loudly, making everyone cringe. "Who are you?!"  
"Don't you remember me, Petunia?" Sirius asked as he undid the illusion charm he put on himself.  
"You!! You're the convict from the television!" Vernon sputtered.  
"Ah yes, that is true. But Petunia knows me from somewhere else, don't you?" Sirius said.  
"You...you were a friend of my freak sister! She sent me pictures of her wedding and you were right now next to her freak of a husband!" Petunia said shrilly.  
Sirius turned his wand away from Vernon and onto Petunia. "You will NOT call James or Lily a freak! They were wonderful people who fought bravely against the biggest and worst evil that the muggle or magical world could ever know... right up until the end. James died protecting Lily and Lily died protecting her son so that he managed to live." The wand was now pointed towards Vernon Dursley again. "He defeated the worst evil in the world when he was less than one year old...he is your own flesh and blood. Yet, you continuously called him a freak, lied to him about his parents, and abused him until he was almost dead!" Sirius was shouting so loudly and was so angry that everything in the room seemed to be shaking.  
"You will not come into my home and start yelling at me," Vernon said, trying to sound brave while he was shaking himself. "You just made your own point. That freak of a boy killed his own mother, my wife's sister. He deserves anything that comes to him," he spat out.  
If Dudley hadn't closed the door earlier, it would have happened now as all open doors in the house slammed shut, be it bedroom, bathroom, or garage door.  
"You have no idea what the hell you are talking about," Sirius growled. "Harry has done nothing but save this world from destruction and evil. The only person responsible for the death of Lily is Voldemort, who Harry banished after he killed Lily. Harry James Potter has no evil spirit in him and would sooner kill himself than kill someone who is on the Light side. Hell, he wouldn't kill anyone on the Dark side unless he had to!" It was amazing that nobody had come to the Dursley house to see if everything was okay, after how loud Sirius was yelling.  
"My godson may have been too nice of a person to do anything to you, but you better believe that I will take revenge for him," Sirius growled with an evil grin. "STUPIFY!" All members of the Dursley family assembled froze in place. "Now for some real fun," Sirius chuckled.  
First, he walked into the living room and thought for a moment what he should do about this room. "Violetea Changea!" he said as he waved his wand around the room. The living room would constantly change different shades of purple because of this spell. Next, Sirius walked into the kitchen. One of the first things he saw was a picture of different flowers. "Perfect!" he exclaimed. "Blumen!" The walls now had different types and colors of flowers growing out of the wall. If the Dursleys tried to pick them, two more would grow in place of one.  
For his next room, he went upstairs in search of the bathroom. He didn't need to see the room first to know what he wanted to do with it. As soon as he turned on the light in the bathroom though he cringed and thought that this spell would make this room look much better. "Schwimmen Fisch!" Now it looked like there were fish swimming in the walls. Almost like a large aquarium going around the room. The next room he came upon was Petunia and Vernon's bedroom. He said "Pictureesque!" and several pictures of random people appeared on the walls. Now these weren't the normal Muggle pictures but Wizarding pictures, so all the people in them were moving around and talking. 'Oh yeah,' Sirius thought with a grin.  
As he was going back down the stairs, he decided what he had to do to the dining room. "De and Nite," was the spell he cast for that room. Whatever the weather was like outside, it would appear as that in a mural on the walls. Now that that was done, he could finish with the Dursleys.  
"Finite Incantatum," he said lazily as he waved his wand over the Dursleys.  
"What the hell did you do to us!?" Vernon sputtered now that he could talk.  
"Oh, I just had to make sure you didn't move while I spelled your house."  
"Spelled our house?? What!" Petunia said in her annoying shrill voice.  
"Yes, I've placed several spells on different rooms in your house. They will be impossible for you to move or paint over, and pretty damn hard for any other wizard to take off. I only have one more thing to do to you before I leave," Sirius explained with a grin. "Enchant!"  
After he uttered that spell, Dudley now had his pig tail once again, Petunia had bright pink hair, and Vernon had a pig's nose. All three screamed as they saw the others.  
"What have you done?" Dudley gasped.  
"Just showing on the outside how much of a freak you three are. Again, these spells cannot be removed or anything, so don't bother trying. Now, I reserve the right to come back here and do more to you if I wish, but I'll leave things as they are now. Bye!" Sirius said cheerfully as the door opened for him and he walked out, leaving three gaping Dursleys behind him, one of which quickly closed the door.  
"I feel much better now," Sirius said with a grin as he replaced his illusion charm before striding down the side walk. As soon as he was far away enough, he apparated to Diagon Alley so he could get back to Hogwarts and tell Moony all about his time with the Dursleys. 'He'll probably want to kill me for not taking him with me though,' Sirius thought with a grin. 'Oh well...he can always go back for another visit with them.'

I hope this chapter was to your liking - I don't have much done on the next chapter yet but I'm going to try and post it before next Friday. Thanks again to my wonderful beta, Maria And my wonderful reviewers.   
  
I've become terribly addicted to two types of stories recently. Ones where Harry is unfairly (of course!) put in Azkaban and ones where Harry starts his own version of the Order of the Phoenix. If anybody could leave recommendations for stories along those lines (preferably long ones) I will forever love you!! Thanks!


	22. Stares and Greetings

Disclaimer: Yada yada...still don't own sigh

_AN: Sorry I've taken so long to update...I haven't been in a story writing mood for awhile and college has been a bit hectic. I'll try to get as much out during breaks that I can, but I kinda screwed myself over last semester, so gotta make up for it this semester. Never slack off your first semester in college! ...Anyways, onto the story!_

Chapter 22

After going by Flourish and Blotts, Honeydukes, and the Qudditch store, the three women were ready to go on to Hogwarts. They had a bag full of candy, along with Hexes Over the Years and How to Protect Yourself and Famous Moves: You Can Learn Them Too for Harry. There was also candy for all three females and several books for Hermione.

"Ready?" Mrs. Weasley asked, as she held out one hand to Hermione and her other hand to Ginny.

They both nodded as they grabbed the offered hands and apparated to the border of Hogwarts. As they started walking to the castle, Mrs. Weasley looked at her watch (Arthur had given it to her a few months earlier, what with his love for muggle contraptions).

"Well, we're a little early, but I'm sure it will be fine," she said.

When they were almost to the castle, a cat walked up to them and transformed into Mrs. McGonagall. She stared at Molly's hair openly for a few moments before composing herself.

"Good to see you again Minerva," Mrs. Weasley said warmly.

"Same to you Molly," McGonagall said. "Have you eaten lunch yet?"

The three of them shook their heads 'no', knowing they had forgotten something.

"Good," McGonagall said briskly as she started walking towards the castle. "Albus wished for all of you to meet him in the Great Hall."

As the group of four entered the castle and then the Great Hall, Mrs. Weasley gave a small sigh of longing.

"Are you okay mum?" Ginny asked, having heard her mother sigh.

"Yes dear," she smiled down at her daughter. "Just thinking about how much I miss my years at this school."

"Ah, Misses Weasley's and Ms. Granger," they heard a voice say. "I'm glad you could make it in time for lunch."

Dumbledore smiled merrily down at them as he gestured for them to join him at the main table. "Come, come."

They, along with McGonagall, went up and joined Dumbledore. Minerva sat on his right side while Molly sat on his left with Ginny and Hermione next to her.

"How are you, Albus?" Molly asked, as the food popped onto the table.

"Quite well, Molly. And yourself?"

"I'm doing fair," she said, trying to avoid looking directly at him.

"Is there something wrong, Molly?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," she answered, without looking at him. She instead focused her attention on Ginny and Hermione, who were currently snickering.

"Shush now, children," she said sternly. The two girls stared down at their plates but couldn't help but giggle.

"What's wrong Molly?" Dumbledore asked, his eyes twinkling. If the two children were acting so, it couldn't be anything serious.

"The twins have been up to their pranks again," she said stiffly. "One backfired, as usual."

"May I assume the backfired prank is your green and silver hair?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes," Mrs. Weasley muttered darkly. "The boys should be happy that I will be gone for the day, giving my temper a bit to cool."

Ginny was about to make a comment when Snape swept into the Great Hall.

"Nice of you to join us, Severus," Dumbledore smiled. Instead of the snappish comment everyone expected, silence followed. Several pairs of eyes looked towards Severus and saw him standing in front of his chair but starting at Molly's hair.

He sneered before taking his seat. "Nice to see your house loyalties have changed," he said.

"Not one more word out of you Severus!" Molly spat out, glaring at him.

Dumbledore cleared his throat before any thing else could be said. "Let us all enjoy our food; problem free, shall we?"

Everyone glared at Snape for another moment before turning their gazes to their food while Snape just smirked at everyone before helping himself to some food. The rest of the meal was spent in relative silence.

The two girls had just dropped their things off in Gryffindor Tower (where they would be staying while visiting Harry) and were now in Dumbledore's office, seeing Mrs.Weasley off.

"And you are sure you have everything?" Molly asked the girls for the tenth time.

"Yes mum!" Ginny cried. "We did the first nine times you asked, and we still do." The two Weasley women glared at each other for a moment before smiling. Hermione just watched the two, shaking her head in silent mirth.

"Just making sure. Get in touch with me when you are ready to come back." Molly leaned down and kissed both girls on the heads before turning to Dumbledore. "And you are sure everything is alright with them staying? I don't want anyone to go to any trouble."

"Everything is just fine, Molly. It will be good for Harry to spend some time with his friends. I will call you later and let you know that everything is fine," Dumbledore chuckled. Molly looked back at the girls one last time before stepping into Dumbledore's fire and flooing home.

"Now are you ready to go visit Harry?" Dumbledore asked. Hermione and Ginny looked at each other for a second before turning back to Dumbledore and nodding as one. "Good," he smiled. "Off we go then." He led the girls out of his office and they set off towards the Hospital Wing.

"Poppy! Mr. Potter has two visitors," Dumbledore called out merrily as he pushed the door open. Hermione and Ginny hung back a bit, almost afraid to go into the ward. "Come on now," Dumbledore said to the two as he noticed this.

Madame Pomfrey came out from behind a curtain, wiping her hands on her robe. "You're a bit early," she said, though she smiled. "Harry just finished his lunch so why don't you go ahead and go visit him." She pointed to the curtained area towards the back. "He's right back there." Poppy walked up to Dumbledore and they went into her office, whispering the whole way.

"Ya ready?" Ginny asked Hermione quietly. Hermione just nodded, trying to smile at Ginny. Both witches were happy to get to see Harry but they were afraid what they would see. Or what they might find out from him. Hermione took the younger girls hand into her own and they walked to the curtain together. Hermione took a deep breath before pulling the curtain open some.

"Hello Harry," she said brightly as she pulled Ginny in with her.

AN: I know I should post more with this chapter, but really wanted to get something out. I feel horrible for not posting in so long ducks the many objects flung at my head and am gonna try and get at least two more chapters out. Since it's been so long though, I'm having to re-read my own story heh. Good thing it isn't really Anyways, please review so I know if anyone is still interested in this story! Thanks


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